Captured
by MamaBearKat
Summary: Kagome and Inuyasha are returning from the well, when Kagome hears a baby crying. Who would have thought her wish to rescue an innocent baby could have such dire consequences for both her and Inuyasha? Now the clock is ticking - will she be able to save him and herself? Labyrinth AU for InuKag Week 2019. Rated M for violence and Inuyasha's dog eat dog dialogue (such a sweary boy!)
1. Prelude

PRELUDE

Inuyasha woke with a groan, his head lolling heavily against his chest. He rolled his head to one side, and even that slight movement caused a riot of pain in his skull. Blinking stubbornly, fighting against succumbing to the blessed relief of unconsciousness again, he tried to focus on his surroundings. There was hardly any light, his eyes may as well be closed; the air smelt dank and musty, and it was suffocatingly warm.

He lurched to his feet, trying to ignore the clanging pain in his head, only to stagger as his arms were pulled back. There was something heavy around his wrists, restraining him. Feeling with his fingers and claws he realised that his forearms were encased together in a thick metal band connected to chains. He backed up, his naked shoulders coming into contact with rough damp stone.

He could smell dirt and metal and blood. Some of it he recognised as his, but there was someone else's too. He struggled to understand what was going on, shaking his head to jog his memory, and then flattened his ears at the pain the movement provoked, wishing he hadn't. There was something… someone… the scent of the other person was…

"KAGOME!" he hollered, uncaring of the pain in his skull.

A rattling noise echoed far above him, and he heard rusted metal screeching. Beams of light penetrated his eyes and he squinted at the sudden assault on his already aching head. A voice filtered down from above him.

"Yelling won't do you no good you know. Why don't you have a nice nap, while you can."

"Fucking bastard! Where's Kagome! What have you done with her!"

"Me personally? I haven't done nothing."

"Where is she! If she's hurt, I'm gonna…"

"She was a bit upset when I saw her last, but she was mostly fine. Master wouldn't want her too damaged, or she wouldn't be able to play."

Inuyasha yanked at the chains holding him with all his strength, but he couldn't get them to budge. He kicked out at the damp stone walls but didn't make a dent. He was frantic. Some sick bastard had Kagome. Miroku and Sango had gone back to the taijiya village so Sango could make some more repairs on her hiraikotsu, and Shippo was with Kaede. They weren't expected back for a couple of days, so no one would be looking for her. No one else knew she was in danger.

He squinted back up at the small hole above him but couldn't see who was talking. Dammit, he needed to calm down and find out where they were.

"Where am I?"

"Well, I could be mistaken, but it looks to me like you're in a hole."

"Smart arse bastard! Alright, where's Kagome then?"

"Well, I don't know exactly… she started a while ago, so who knows where she is now."

"Fuck! What is Kagome doing right now!"

"Ah, that's a bit easier. She agreed to do the Master's challenge."

Inuyasha's heart beat faster. This was sounding worse and worse. He paced backwards and forward in the small round space that the chain allowed. "What does that even mean?"

"If she wins, you both get to go free. If you lose, you both stay here forever."

"What… what does she have to do?"

"She has to beat the clock. Master Jareth told her she had to solve the labyrinth." And with a screech of metal, the grating above him closed and he was plunged back into darkness.

* * *

_Sooo, this is a little something I'm working on for InuKag Week 2019 on Tumblr. You can find me there under the same handle - bearpluscat._

_This, obviously, is the prelude and the next seven chapters will all be based around this years word prompts for each respective day. I'll upload them here after Tumblr, but you shouldn't have to wait too long._

_Can I make a cohesive story just using single word prompts? I think so. _

_Can I manage a chapter a day? Here's hoping! _

_Will I be able to limit myself 1000 words per chapter I set myself? Doubtful..._

_I'm really excited about this little project though. I hope you enjoy it!_


	2. Opposites

OPPOSITES

Kagome ran, the stitch in her side searing in pain, the dull throb of her injured hand keeping time with the pounding of her feet on the flagged stone beneath her. She lost her balance momentarily, staggering into the high stone wall that edged the path, bruising her hip, but did not stop. She had no way of knowing how much time she had left, had no way of knowing if Inuyasha was still alright, or even where he was.

The narrow twisting path came to an end, another choice. Left, or right? She could see the castle in the distance rising above the narrow walls of the labyrinth if she stood on tiptoe, but after all this time, she still didn't seem any closer. Which way? She tried feeling it out with her miko powers, but neither seemed right or wrong. Making a snap decision, she chose left, as it seemed to be heading uphill. Maybe if she could get higher, she would have a better idea of which way to go.

She swallowed a sob and continued to run, trying not to think of the wet popping sound Inuyasha's skull had made, trying not to remember his slumped form on the ground, blood trickling out of his ear. 'He's gonna be fine', she chanted to herself like a mantra, lungs burning as she forced herself onwards. 'He has to be.'

_It was a beautiful evening. The summer breeze wafted smells of cooking as families in the village ate their meals with their door coverings open to catch the cooler air. The screech of cicadas was almost deafening as they approached the large tree near Kaede's hut, burdened with supplies brought back from Kagome's time. Inuyasha thumped his fist against the trunk of the tree and the screeching sound stopped, only to continue again after a moment's silence. _

"_Noisy lil' bastards", grunted Inuyasha, as Kagome giggled at him. The weight of her backpack was digging into her shoulders, but she had deemed every single item in it necessary; they were getting low on medical supplies, and she had a feeling that they would need them again soon. They always seemed to need them. She smiled fondly at Inuyasha, his face almost hidden by the three huge boxes full of instant ramen he was carrying. Her mother had made a deal with the local grocer to buy them wholesale – not that they were very expensive, but it made better sense to buy them in bulk at the rate Inuyasha ate them. _

_She pulled suddenly at Inuyasha's sleeve. "Can you hear that?"_

"_Hear what?"_

"_There's a baby crying Inuyasha! A tiny one, it sounds like a newborn! Why would there be a baby all the way up here?" Kagome dropped her backpack, but kept her bow and quiver slung over her shoulders and jogged off towards the sound._

"_Oi wench, get back here! I can't hear anything! I thought we were gonna eat!" _

_Kagome ignored him, knowing he would follow her, and sure enough moments later he appeared at her side, rumbling in annoyance. "This is stupid. I can't hear no baby and I'm hungry!"_

"_It'll only take a moment. We're getting closer", Kagome said urgently. There was something about the tiny baby's cry – it sounded weak and pitiful, like it had been crying for a while and no one had picked it up. Kagome was desperate to find it. Maybe the mother had given birth away from home and had collapsed? Could an unmarried mother have left a newborn near the shrine for Kaede to find? _

_They entered a clearing, and Kagome immediately spotted the small woven basket, covered with a dark indigo patterned cloth. She ran towards it; the baby's wails were getting softer, and she was worried. _

"_Kagome don't touch that basket! I don't know what's in it, but it's not a human baby!"_

_Kagome hesitated for a moment, then carefully pulled the cloth covering away. She trusted Inuyasha, but what it if it _was_ a baby? She could never live with the guilt of knowing that she could have saved a tiny life and had knowingly let it die. Trying to ignore Inuyasha's growls of anger at her failure to listen, she peeked in the basket cautiously. _

_The baby was tiny, skin still pink, naked and shivering. His little hands moved listlessly, eyes screwed tightly shut as he cried softly, still too young to produce tears. Kagome was heartbroken, and without giving it another thought her hands moved forwards to pick him up._

"_Kagome, don't!" Inuyasha roared, running forwards to slap her hands away, but it was too late. _

_What had been a tiny pitiful baby only moments before was now something out of a nightmare, still small, but with black eyes, grey skin and serrated teeth. Bony clawed fingers grasped her wrist before she could pull back, holding her close, and those teeth sunk into the flesh of her fingers near her knuckles, biting down to the bone. She shrieked, trying to pull back her hand, but the claws dug in further as the serrated teeth tore at her skin, grinning madly. Suddenly the black eyes widened as a shadow appeared over the basket, and it let Kagome go, leaping away into the trees on all fours, chittering wildly. _

_Large hands reached around her and cradled Kagome's bleeding fingers gently. "Lemme see wench." Kagome heard him hiss in dismay or anger as he saw the white of bone near her knuckle as the blood pooled between her fingers and dripped in wet splats onto the ground. "Fuck, Kagome, I told you not to go near it!"_

"_I'm sorry…" Kagome gasped leaning back against Inuyasha. Her heart was beating wildly, and she felt a little nauseous. That thing, whatever it was, had looked so like a baby. So real. She hadn't been able to hold back, the feeling of needing to help was overpowering. _

"_Are you so eager to take care of a crying baby, young miko?"_

_Kagome could hear the silent growl rumbling though Inuyasha's chest against her back. He turned her to face towards his chest and pulled her tightly against him, cradling her bleeding hand against his suikan as he moved to face the speaker behind them. _

_Standing before them on the other side of the clearing was a tall slender man with wispy blonde hair, his shoulders covered by a black shimmering cloak. Kagome could tell he wasn't human. There was a sort of ethereal beauty about him, which reminded her a little of Sesshomaru. But he also wasn't a demon. Inuyasha's growls escalated as the man regarded them with a malevolent grin._

"_Hmm, such an interesting pair. On the one hand, we have a miko, with strong spiritual powers but easily swayed by her emotions; young and beautiful, obviously still a maiden, still pure, ripe for the picking." Inuyasha moved Kagome behind him and drew out Tessaiga._

"_And on the other hand, we have her watchdog. A hanyou, with a much better instincts who understands that not everything is what it seems, but lowest of the low, hardly worth my time really. Although, I'm sure he's loyal, and the hair and eyes are interesting. Quite intriguing."_

"_Are you done?" snarled Inuyasha. "Your creature hurt Kagome, and you're gonna pay for that…"_

_The man rolled his eyes and held out his hand nonchalantly. A glass sphere appeared, resting on his fingertips. "Oh, come now, puppy, surely you jest. You are certainly no match for me, and it's absurd for you to even think so."_

"_Keh." Kagome shuffled backwards out of the way, cradling her still dripping hand against her chest as Inuyasha widened his stance and drew back the Tessaiga, but before he could release the kaze no kizu, the man drew back his arm and threw the glass sphere. Travelling at superhuman speed, it spun behind Inuyasha and cracked into the side of his skull before he could block, and he dropped onto his hands and knees with a groan. Blood gushed out of one ear and he slumped onto his side on the ground._

"_Inuyasha!" screamed Kagome. Before she could even move the shimmering sphere that lay next to him increased in size to contain him, and then disappeared, leaving nothing but glittering shimmers in its wake. _

_Kagome gazed, horrified, at the man who was now approaching her, and spun her bow into her hand, nocking an arrow and wincing in pain as her slick bloodied fingers pulled back the tension. _

"_Hold, for a moment. I have been watching you, miko. Without the hanyou, you would be free to stay in your own time and forget about the war here in the past. I could make them all forget, and you could live a normal life." _

_Kagome grunted at him and let her arrow fly, but it was immediately blocked, shattering into kindling as she herself was encased in a glittering sphere. _

_It seemed like she herself stood still while the world around her was pulled sideways, and she was suddenly released with a shimmering pop. She staggered slightly, amazed to see she was standing on a hill, surrounded by barren trees, in a place she didn't recognise at all. The man stood beside her in the chill wind and sighed._

"_So it appears you choose the hanyou. I supposed as much. Do you really want him back?"_

"_Yes", she said thickly. There seemed to be no point in shooting at him again, as he was able to block her arrows, and he knew where Inuyasha was. "Please, he's injured. I need to see him." _

_He ignored her plea and turned to face her, swirling his cloak theatrically. Up close, she was able to see the pale flawless skin of his face, and his eyes, one pale blue with a small dark pupil, the other brown and almost fully dilated. She gulped a little but stood her ground as he stepped closer. She felt intimidated but refused to step back, refused to do anything that might give him the upper hand while Inuyasha's life hung in the balance._

"_Young miko, I am Jareth, the Goblin King. For the last thousand years, I have been an unwilling member of the Unseelie court. I lack inspiration. You, however, interest me."_

_Kagome looked at him in horror. "You did this because you were _bored_?" Jareth sketched a mocking half bow. _

"_I require you to entertain me. Solve my labyrinth and reach me in the castle before the sun rises, and you can leave with your pitiful hanyou. Fail and he will become a member of my troops, and you, my delectable miko, will belong to me."_

_Kagome looked at him carefully. "What if I refuse?"_

_He grinned at her menacingly, showing very white teeth. "Then you have already lost."_

"_Very well, I'll take your challenge", Kagome said proudly, raising her chin. She wanted to weep, but that wouldn't solve anything. Jareth merely nodded, reminding her that she had until the sun rose, encased himself in one of those spheres he seemed so fond of, and disappeared._

That had been hours ago. Kagome had no way of telling the time in the dark. There was no moon, but once her eyes had adjusted to the darkness after the sun had set, she was pleased to find that the stones of the labyrinth itself were faintly luminescent, glittering under her feet.

She took a moment to lean on the wall, wishing again that she had her backpack with her. It had her water bottle, and clean bandages. She'd done her best by ripping out both short sleeves of her summer shirt and wrapping them around her dripping fingers, but the blood had soaked through the cloth very quickly and had dried stiffly. Gazing at the dried blood that covered her hand and wrist made her think of Inuyasha again. How badly was he hurt? She had to get to him.

Taking a deep breath, she barrelled around another corner, coming face to face with a huge black dog, the size of a horse. A deep growl rumbled in its throat, spittle dripping from its jaws. Kagome took in the sight of its red glowing eyes, as the long fur on its ruff bristled at the sight of her. She took one step backwards.

"Oh, shit…"

* * *

_As some of you may have already guessed, this is a Labyrinth AU. But not exactly. Think more Unseelie court than cute muppets. There will be no singing. Jareth is Not Nice. But feel free to imagine him looking like David "omg is that a codpiece?!" Bowie in all his sparkly over the top glory. That will do perfectly._


	3. Friendship

FRIENDSHIP

Inuyasha paced around the small space, as far as the chains attached to his wrists would allow. His eyes had acclimatised to the dark a little more, and he could make out the sparse details around him, but there wasn't much to see. He was in a circular pit. Dirt floor, cold wet stone walls, dirty rags on the ground. He pulled on the chains, trying to see exactly how much slack he had, and worked out he could make it to the centre of the small space before he reached the limit. He followed the chains back along their length by touch, hoping to find where they were connected to the wall so he could concentrate his efforts on prising them free, but was dismayed to find that they went through a hole in the wall. Dammit. He kicked the bundle of rags in frustration.

He slumped down the damp stone wall, uncomfortably flexing his shoulders against the heavy weight of the chains and leaned his head back, ear flicking against the uncomfortable pull of dried blood in his hair. His headache had settled into a dull thump, and now that the pain in his head had lessened, memories came flooding back. Kagome hearing a baby crying, even though he could hear nothing. Kagome putting her hand in that basket. Kagome's _hand_. He tapped his head back against the wall in frustration. He hadn't even had time to let loose one attack.

He needed to get to Kagome. Gods only knew what the wench had signed herself up for, and she was already injured. He tried to block out the thoughts of her pale slender fingers and wrist dripping blood, white bone peeking through the ragged teeth marks.

Inuyasha choked back a whine. She would be in pain. He didn't know if she would be able to draw her bow with an injury like that. She would be unprotected. And humans took so long to heal and were so prone to getting infections and dying. He hated how fragile she was. How fragile they all were. Her and Sango and Miroku; one bad hit, one moment where he let his guard down, and their lives could be gone in an instant.

But he didn't worry about Sango and Miroku as much as he worried about Kagome. Their lives hadn't been easy, but at least they had developed some battle smarts along the way. But Kagome. He couldn't believe how stupid she was sometimes. He growled under his breath. He'd told her. He'd told her not to touch that basket. He'd known right away from the scent that whatever was in it wasn't good – not human, not demon, not any animal that he knew. But did she listen to him? Noooo, of course she knew better, because she had to save fucking _everyone_. Couldn't leave things alone, had to let her bleeding heart control her actions, and once again she was in danger because of it.

He closed his eyes, grimacing at the thumping ache in his head. But that soft heart of hers had brought them all together too. Had rescued Shippou, let Miroku tag along, had comforted Sango… had saved him by pulling out Kikyo's damned arrow, had given him her friendship. He knew it. Her weakness was also her strength. That's why he needed to protect her. Why he needed to be close to her.

He flexed his fingers, arms aching, remembering her small frame pulled closely against his chest, the way she was just the right height for her head to tuck under his chin. The way she leaned on him when they were sitting together, her eyes compassionate, ready to listen to anything he might say. The way those same eyes snapped with righteous indignation when he did something _she_considered stupid, right before she snapped out that damned command.

He tipped his head to one side, to feel the cold smoothness of the kotodama beads still around his neck. At least they'd left these. He didn't know where his Tessaiga or firerat suikan were, and he would have to find them when he escaped. Because he would escape. There was no doubt in his mind that he would. Kagome needed him. He just needed to figure out how.

'What would Kagome do, if she were here instead of me?' He shivered, not really wanting to think of Kagome chained in a dark place by herself; she wouldn't be able to see a thing down here with her human eyes. No doubt she'd be terrified, but she also used that brain of hers a lot. She thought about things. Even when she was angry, once she got over her upset, she would go and sit by herself to think, and then she would come back and be settled once again.

She also talked a lot. She asked questions, so many questions! Sometimes he wondered if she would ever shut up, once she got started, badgering him about… okay, getting off track here. Kagome thinks and asks questions, talks a lot, but she finds out things that way… right.

"Oi, you still up there?"

"Hmm?"

Inuyasha heard the sound of rasping metal and shut his eyes against the sudden light streaming from above. "Hey, you up there, what's your name?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I dunno, I'm bored. What's your name?"

"Rank and file number 1278."

Inuyasha hesitated a moment. What kind of a name was that?

"That's not a name. What's your real name?" After a long pause the voice answered again.

"That is my name. I don't have another one."

"What did your parents call you?"

"Parents?"

Inuyasha thought. He wasn't sure if he was on the right track, but the fact that this guy either didn't know who his parents were, or didn't remember them, seemed important.

"Oi, do you remember your parents?" He waited for an answer, but none seemed to be forthcoming. This bastard had better not have wandered off while he was talking to him. "…. you still there?"

"Sorry I was distracted for a moment. I was watching something."

Inuyasha thought back to their earlier conversation. There had been no one else there when he had been taken, apart from Kagome, that pompous bastard with the cape and glowing sphere, and that freaky baby. But earlier the guy above him had mentioned Kagome. He had mentioned seeing her, seeing that she was upset. What if he…

"Hey. Hey you, rank and file whatever, can you see the girl? Are you watching Kagome right now?"

"…."

Inuyasha roared in anger, leaping to his feet, pulling on the chains. "You can, can't you! You fucking bastard! Show me! I need to see her! Right now! Is… is she okay?"

He was mortified to hear his voice crack on the last syllable. He growled again, roughening his voice, even though he realised that he was in no place to make demands, chained to a wall in a pit.

"Show me! I'm not gonna shut up until I see her. I'm gonna keep talking and talking." He hesitated a moment. "I might even sing, and I'm a fucking terrible singer. Or I could…" A sudden thought occurred to him and a grin crossed his lips before he threw back his head and howled.

The sound was magnified by the circular stone cell around him, and he flattened his ears and howled even louder. This was degrading, but if it meant he got to see Kagome, he'd howl all day. He kept it going, for what seemed like hours. He swallowed, trying to moisten his dry throat, and then began again, but a sudden movement in front of him made him stop. How did he…

There was a human man standing in front of him. Stocky, muscular, a little shorter than him, with pale skin on his face, and a beard. It was difficult to tell exactly in the darkness, but he seemed to be wearing some sort of leather armour. The man was scowling, and had his fingers blocking both ears.

"If I show you, will you shut up! I'd rather eat glass than listen to you anymore!"

Inuyasha grinned. He couldn't believe that had worked. He had no idea how the man had got into his cell, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Show me", he growled, his voice raspy from overuse.

The man sighed, then produced a glowing sphere from a pocket in his loose pants. It expanded until it was a glowing ball about the size of his head, and he released it so that it floated in between him and Inuyasha.

Inuyasha squinted against the harsh light, then realised he could see Kagome. It was a bit like watching that box with the moving pictures in her house in the future. He drank in the view of her greedily, a feeling of pure relief flooding him. She was still alive!

It was dark, and she was running along a narrow path, stone walls on either side of her. Was it still night? Was it still the same night? He had no way of judging how long he had been unconscious, how long he'd been in the cell.

The view he had of her was from behind, and slightly above her. She was sweaty and panting, had obviously been running for a long time. She staggered slightly, catching her hip against the wall and he winced in sympathy.

"Where is she?" Inuyasha rasped, his eyes locked on Kagome.

"I told you before, she's running the labyrinth. I'd say from the look of the glowing cobblestones, she's about a third of the way in. She's been lucky, she mustn't have come across any of the major obstacles yet."

"Obstacles?" growled Inuyasha.

"Well sure. It's not just a maze, it's Jareth's labyrinth. It's a game."

"Who's Jareth?" He could tell from the man's choked gasp that this was important information, but he refused to take his eyes off Kagome. He ached to be near her. He could tell she was exhausted, but she was still running, and he knew she would keep running until she dropped, if she put her mind to it. If it was one thing he knew, his wench was damned stubborn.

"Jareth is the Goblin King! One of the leaders of the Unseelie court. Surely you've met him if he put you in his oubliette!"

Inuyasha's brows furrowed in concentration. There was a lot of information to unpack in that sentence, but he wanted to concentrate on Kagome. She had stopped for a moment, and was leaning against a wall, gasping heavily. He had a view of her from the front now, and he grit his teeth in anger. Her bow and quiver were still slung over her shoulder, and her hair was messy and sweaty. Her arms and legs were covered in dirt and scrapes where she must have fallen and got up again.

Her shirt was ripped, the sleeves missing, and he realised why when he saw her hand. It was wrapped in what must have been her sleeves, the white cloth totally obscured by dark red, with more dried blood trailing down in dribbles to her elbow. As she turned her wrist and flexed her fingers slightly, he saw her wince in pain. She looked pale, with dark circles under her eyes, and the muscles in her legs were shaking.

"Kagome…", he whispered, longing to be able to reach out and touch her.

He watched her stand up, pushing her chin forward as her mouth settled in a determined line, and he felt a fierce pride overwhelm him. Kagome's human frame might be easily damaged, but her spirit was just as strong as his.

She began running again, turning a blind corner then stopping suddenly in fright as a huge black dog loomed in front of her. She took a step back, and then stood tall, glaring at the beast, her hands clenched in fists at her sides. The surveillance orb stopped moving, so that they had a view from directly above.

"What the fuck is this?" growled Inuyasha.

"It's a Barguest, a goblin dog", explained the man easily. "She needs to get past it."

Inuyasha's eyes were locked on Kagome. Her hand went to her bow, and then she hesitated.

"C'mon wench, shoot the damn dog and be done with it", growled Inuyasha. His heart was beating triple time as he watched her stand her ground. She was watching the dog, looking at the walls, taking in all the details around it, and he could see her mouth moving. "Why can't we hear her?"

"Surveillance orbs don't have sound. Only Master Jareth has can hear what goes on in the labyrinth."

Inuyasha watched as the dog tilted it's head to one side, the bristling fur of its ruff lowering. "Can that thing understand what she's saying?"

"I don't know. Most people who meet a Barguest die within minutes, so that's not something that's usually discussed." He reached his hand out towards the orb. "Maybe you should stop watching now. I don't know if it's a good idea for you to see this."

Inuyasha growled. "Get your hands away!" The man shrugged and stepped back. Inuyasha glared at the globe as Kagome took a step closer to the dog. "Goddamit Kagome, what are ya doin'!" If they both made it out of this maze alive, he was gonna throttle her. She took another step forward, her uninjured hand reaching out towards the dog, her mouth still moving. Fucking hell, didn't she learn anything from earlier today? She was going to lose her whole hand this time, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

He blinked in surprise as the dog sat on its haunches and lowered itself, so it was laying in front of her, giant head resting on its forepaws. Kagome reached forward cautiously, moving slowly. Her hand touched the black hair of the dog's neck, her legs within reach of the beast's slavering jaws.

Inuyasha whined, pulling at the chains restraining him. Fucking wench! If they made it out of this alive, they were definitely going to have a serious conversation about her personal safety, and how he was never going to let her out of his sight again.

Kagome fiddled with something on the dog's neck. She was obviously having trouble using only one hand, so stepped closer and leaned further forward, her legs almost resting on the dog's nose. Suddenly there was a bright light, and Inuyasha saw heavy chains and a collar that had previously been invisible hit the stone cobblestones around the dog.

Kagome stepped back. She seemed a little nervous, but not nervous enough to Inuyasha's mind. This dog had been fucking restrained for obvious reasons, and she had released it!

Kagome's mouth moved again, and the dog's tail twitched. She approached it again, her hand tentatively brushing over the fur on the dog's neck, and to Inuyasha's horror and amazement, she swung her leg over the dog's shoulders, gripping the long fur of its ruff with her good hand. The dog lurched to it's feet and bounded away with her astride it, so fast that the surveillance orb was unable to keep up with it and they moved out of range of the picture.

Inuyasha gasped in loud pants, his heart in his throat. What the fuck was she doing?

"Well, that was unexpected. I've never seen anyone do that before. Most girls try to get past it and get torn to pieces."

"What do you mean, most girls?" Inuyasha rasped. He couldn't handle it. He needed to do something. Being trapped here passively while Kagome risked her life was doing his head in.

"I told you before. This is Jareth's labyrinth. His game. He gets bored easily with court life, so this is his entertainment. Sometimes he kidnaps a girl by herself to run the labyrinth. Sometimes he takes a couple and puts the male in his dungeon while the girl runs. Once she fails, the man becomes rank and file in his army."

"Kagome won't fail", snorted Inuyasha. "She's too stubborn to fail."

Now that he wasn't watching Kagome in the screen, he glanced up to see the face of the human standing opposite him. He could see more details now with the light of the glowing orb between them. His hair and beard were dark red, his eyes pale blue, and he wore a closed tan leather jerkin and loose pants of checked cloth. His arms were bare, one branded with markings that Inuyasha didn't recognise. The look on his face was pitying, as if he knew something Inuyasha did not.

"You don't understand", said the man softly. "They never win. Jareth makes sure of it. Most die in the maze. One in a hundred might make it to the castle, but he makes it so they never succeed the terms of the game, so that they lose. I have never seen a girl win." He sighed. "I used to want to help them, but watching was so hard, because they couldn't hear me, all I could do was bear witness to their death. Now I only watch to be prepared for the end."

Inuyasha glared at him fiercely. "Kagome will do it." he spat. "She will. You don't know her. You don't know anything about her." A sudden thought occurred to him. "You said you were rank and file, right? Jareth's not human but you are. Did he bring you here with a girl?"

The man's eyes widened. "I don't…"

"You said you didn't have a name before, but most humans have names. Their parents give them one when they're born. You must have a name other than a number."

The man shook his head. "I've always been here."

"So you grew up here? Who looked after you when you were a child? Does Jareth kidnap children too?"

The man shook his head slowly. "No, I've never seen him take a child. I don't…". His eyes widened as he looked at Inuyasha. "I don't remember", he said slowly. "I can't remember ever being a child. I just remember here."

Inuyasha growled. "What happens to the other men when the girls run the maze. What happens to them… after."

The man gulped. "I don't know. My job is to guard the oubliette, while the girls run. When they lose, another guard comes to take them away. Why… why don't I remember?"

Inuyasha spoke slowly and carefully. "Could it be possible that Jareth has taken away your memories? That you were once just like me, watching someone you… you cared about, run through this fucking maze for his _enjoyment_? I want you to think hard. Concentrate. Can you remember anything? Anything at all?"

The man slumped to the floor, placing his head in his hands. "My head…", he moaned. "Something's there. Something…". Suddenly he bent forward, harsh sobs shaking his muscular frame.

Inuyasha pushed himself back so he leaned against his own section of the wall, looking to one side to try and give the man space. He felt uncomfortable at witnessing such violent emotions, so he did his best to make himself invisible and silent.

Finally the man's sobs subsided, and he looked up at Inuyasha, his face full of despair. "We had only been married a short time, but I had loved her for years. When she finally agreed to be mine it was like my heart was…" He choked down a sob, lowering his gaze to the floor.

"We were walking back from the market, taking the hill road because it was quicker and there was a storm approaching. And then she said she heard a baby crying, even though I couldn't…". He looked up at Inuyasha's growl. "You too huh?" He returned his gaze to the dirt floor.

"She was so brave. The guard showed her to me, running like the wind. She'd lost her shoes, and her feet were all cut. Her red hair was so tangled, I could remember thinking as soon as we got home I'd have my work cut out for me helping her get all the knots out. She was very proud of her hair, and I knew she would be angry about it." He chuckled, a sound without humour.

"She came to a forest, and I was p-pleased. Fenella grew up near a forest, so I wasn't worried, I knew she would be in her element. And then she saw… they surrounded her… she was b… burned." He sighed, his hands gripped so tightly together that his knuckles were pure white, and he turned his despairing gaze upwards to meet Inuyasha's. "He made me watch her burn."

Inuyasha looked at him in horror. The man stood, swiping the heels of his hands across his reddened eyes. "Wait here", he said.

"Well, it's not like I'm goin' anywhere else at the moment", Inuyasha muttered. He leaned his head back against the wall, his eyes closed. 'Kagome…' The thought of her roaming around in the dark on that giant black dog made his heart race, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

A sudden sound made him open his eyes. The man had appeared again, holding Inuyasha's suikan and the Tessaiga. He dropped them on the floor in front of him, then moved behind him. Inuyasha heard a sharp click and his arms were suddenly free of the metal cuff and chains which dropped onto the dirt floor with a thud. He moved his arms to the front, clenching and unclenching his fists to get the feeling back into them.

The man backed away from him slowly. "I want to help you", he said, his hands in fists by his sides, his blue eyes fiercely glinting in the glow from the sphere still floating in mid-air. "I don't want you to have to see what I saw." He shook his head tiredly. "I can't believe they made me forget her. She was my world."

Inuyasha shrugged on his suikan and tucked the Tessaiga into his belt. "You're human. You'll probably only slow me down."

"I don't think so", said the man. "I know the passwords, and I know how to get us up to the surface. And even though I've never been through it myself, I know what beasts live in the labyrinth, and I've watched countless girls run, so I remember tricks that they learned. I can help you find Kagome."

Inuyasha growled. "You better think up a name then. I can't just call you 'human' and I definitely ain't callin' you that rank and file name.

"I do have a name", he choked out. "I remembered. It's Rory."

"Rory huh. Alright, how do we get out. Show me the trick."

Rory smiled, touching the glowing sphere so that it shrunk down, then put it in his pocket. "No trick, we just walk out." He moved towards the brick wall, stepped to one side, and then disappeared.

Inuyasha paced after him, his hands held out in front of him in the sudden darkness. He barked out a laugh when he realised that there was an opening in the bricks, made to look solid from the prisoner's viewpoint. Optical illusions huh. Good thing his nose couldn't be tricked.

'Hang on Kagome', he thought clenching his fist around the Tessaiga, following Rory down a narrow passageway, 'I'm comin'.'

* * *

_Go Inu! Time to go find your wench!_

_An author's note, before someone messages me to complain. How do Rory and Inuyasha understand each other? They are obviously from very different locations geographically, because Jareth likes choosing girls for his labyrinth like a pick' n' mix, but they're understanding each other no problem. All I can say is, that's the awesomeness of fanfiction baby! (And I was too lazy to try and come up with a solution. The magic of the Labyrinth solves all!) _


	4. Haunted

_I'm having so much fun writing this. A quick note before we begin. _

_Kokoronagomu (thank you for all your comments by the way! I really appreciate them all!) commented on where this fic is in relation to the timeline before Jareth met Sarah. I have to admit, I pulled the '1000 years' mentioned by Jareth out of thin air. I know of the Labyrinth novel, and the manga that follows on, but I've never read them._

_I am a big fan of the movie and can quote it on request (cough *nerd* cough), but that Jareth, and the Jareth in this story are not the same. I'm basing him more on the faeries of the Unseelie Court - he has no humanity; he feels empty, and watching small humans run his maze amuses him. It's like having his own personal ant farm. That's it. _

_Sarah won't be mentioned anytime soon, nor will any of the other characters, although Rory in some ways is a slight nod to Hoggle, just as the barguest is a slight nod to Ludo. But this is a totally separate story, and if you've never watched Labyrinth, you should still be fine. _

_Sooo, let's begin. Today's word is Haunted. Time for a good old-fashioned ghost story!_

* * *

HAUNTED

Kagome gripped the black dog's fur tightly with her good hand, leaning low to lessen the drag from the wind, trying to not let his jolting gait disturb her balance. He was moving fast, much faster than she would have on foot. The gamble she had made to make their current truce was totally worth it.

Finally her miko senses had come in useful in this bizarre maze – the fact that the dog had a barrier charm keeping him in place against his will had given her the idea of offering him freedom in return for taking her to the castle to find Jareth. She knew it had been risky. She knew there was a possibility that the creature wouldn't understand her at all, but he had seemed to respond to her requests, and had bent down so she could free him when she asked him to. He could have ripped her throat out as soon as she had set him free, but he didn't. She was just grateful Inuyasha hadn't been there to see it, because she knew he would _not_ be happy about the risks she was taking.

She was under no illusion that her and the dog had formed any sort of long-term friendship; she assumed the black dog's desire to find and kill Jareth for keeping it chained and captured outweighed his desire to kill her. She was hoping that it wouldn't come down to a fight between them, because she was grateful that he had listened to her long enough to accept her trade. For now she was happy to take advantage of the dog's speed and sense of smell, and she'd worry about the rest later.

She flexed the fingers on her injured hand again, hissing at the pain. The bandage felt too tight; they were obviously swollen, and she was a little concerned about the numbness of her fingertips. That couldn't be good. But there was nothing she could do about that now. Getting through the maze to the castle, finding Jareth before sunrise, patching up and rescuing Inuyasha and somehow going home were her only concerns.

At least riding on this dog was giving her aching legs a rest. Even though they had travelled all over Honshu in search of the missing pieces of jewel and news of Naraku, she had never run so far so fast. If there was call for speed, she usually rode on Inuyasha's back, which she had come to enjoy maybe a little too much.

She blushed, thinking about how much she enjoyed feeling his warm hands on her thighs when he carried her – it was possibly the main reason she continued to wear the short skirt of her school uniform, even though it was sometimes impractical, well, _mostly_ impractical. She would have to do some serious thinking about her clothing choices when it came to winter – she'd never hear the end of it from him if she caught a cold again like she had last time they travelled through the snow and slowed them down.

She sighed. When he carried her, she felt like she was flying, and she felt free to indulge in the fantasy that he cared about her as much as she cared about him.

Her thoughts were disturbed by the realisation that the dog was beginning to slow down; she could see a tunnel ahead. It was pitch black inside and she felt a sense of foreboding.

"Is this the only way?" she asked the dog hesitantly.

He grunted, and kept moving forwards, so she guessed that was a yes. They stopped just before the entrance to the tunnel; the doorway was too low for them to continue with her riding on the dog's back, so she slid off, grimacing as her aching leg muscles took her weight again. The dog began moving forwards into the darkness, turning his head to make sure she followed, and Kagome shivered at the red glow of his eyes as they entered the tunnel.

If she had been with Inuyasha, she would have reached out and grasped his sleeve, or if she had been feeling emotionally brave, his hand, but now she gripped her own hands together, following the red glow through the darkness. There was something about this narrow space that wasn't right. It vaguely reminded her of going through the well. It was like a void – she was walking but couldn't really feel her footsteps. She shivered. And then she heard the whispers.

"You will fail, everyone before you has."

"Even if you make it through, there is no way home."

"There is no hope for you."

"There is no point continuing, it's already too late."

"He's already dead, give up now."

"He's already dead."

"He's already dead."

"He's already dead."

Kagome gritted her teeth and kept walking, angry tears burning the backs of her eyes. She instinctively understood that this was just a barrier she had to get through. That none of it was real. That the voices were probably somehow picking up on her own fears. She wanted to run, but she fought down the impulse. The Dog wasn't running. Maybe he couldn't hear the voices. Maybe he had voices of his own he was ignoring. Even though he wasn't a friend, he sort of counted as an ally, and she was glad she wasn't alone in this place.

Dog snorted beside her, and she grinned involuntarily. It may have just been a random noise, but she felt like he was giving his opinion of the voices, and it made her feel better. She tentatively reached up her hand to touch the rough fur of his neck above her shoulder, and she felt a vibration under her fingers. It reminded her a little of the rumbling noise that Inuyasha made in his chest sometimes when she leaned on him as they spoke. Even if it wasn't meant as such, she took comfort from it.

There was a dim light up ahead. Maybe they were nearing the end of the tunnel? The voices were becoming more insistent, more shrill, but she blocked them out, curling and uncurling her fingers in Dog's rough fur. She refused to listen to them, refused to let them have any power over her. Illusions could only hurt her if she let them.

The moment they stepped out of the tunnel, Kagome felt a dragging force behind her. She turned to see the blackness of the tunnel collapse in on itself, twisting and shrinking to a single point of pure darkness, then wink out of existence, as if it had never been there at all. She shuddered.

"Okay, that was just plain creepy", she whispered to Dog. She turned to look around them. The walls and cobblestones were gone, and they were in the middle of a forest, but not like any forest she had ever seen. The trees were black and seemed to shimmer in the darkness with a pale blue light. Toadstools grew in sheltered positions on the tree limbs, glowing a sickly neon green.

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore", she said quietly, smiling a little at her own joke, glancing at the black dog next to her. The air smelt unpleasant, like rotting wood and mould, and she wrinkled her nose in distaste. And then a sinking feeling hit her stomach when she realised that she couldn't see the castle anymore.

"Dog, do you still know which way to go?" she asked in fright. At least it was still dark, so there was time, but if they headed in the wrong direction any time she had gained would be lost. Dog grunted and dropped to the ground.

She hesitated. "Does that mean yes? You don't mind carrying me again?" He turned his head to look at her, baleful red eyes glowing in the darkness.

"Alright." She swung her leg over his shoulder again, her good hand twisting in the rough fur. Swallowing carefully, she risked a gentle stroke from the top of his head down to his neck. "Thank you, Dog. I appreciate your help." He snorted and stood abruptly, causing her to shriek in surprise and quickly grasp the thick fur of his heavy ruff with her uninjured hand. She felt a rumble through his shoulders again, and she wondered momentarily if he was amused by the fact that she had nearly fallen.

They took off, Dog loping along at high speed. Kagome had to lean down close to his neck to avoid being knocked off his back by low hanging branches. She wasn't quite sure what to make of him. Was he willingly helping her now? In some ways, he reminded her of Inuyasha when he lost control to his demon self, a killing machine with reddened eyes, set on the destruction of others. But he had listened to her and was still helping her. There seemed to be a tentative trust building, and she was glad.

They ran for what seemed like hours - Kagome had lost all concept of time. The forest seemed to stretch on forever, consistently the same with no distinctive landmarks. She was thankful that Dog seemed to know where he was going, tirelessly finding a path through the grim trees in the darkness.

She had no way of knowing how far there was to go. She tried not to think too much about what she would have to do when she got to the castle. She was pretty sure that Jareth was not going to let them walk out of there, even if she did manage to make it before sunrise. He didn't seem the type to just let anyone win. She wished Inuyasha was here with her. She felt so much braver at his side. She trusted in his physical strength, his stubborn determination to never give up the fight; just knowing he was there made her feel mentally stronger.

She wondered worriedly if he was conscious yet. Bleeding from the ear after being struck on the head was usually a symptom of traumatic brain injury in a human, but… maybe he was okay? He was a half demon after all, and she'd seen him recover from major injuries much faster than a human would. But who knows what Jareth was doing to him now? He would be a prisoner – what if they were torturing him? She shut her eyes in consternation and shook her head. These sorts of thoughts weren't helpful. He never allowed himself to be side-tracked when facing an enemy, and neither would she.

Dog growled beneath her. "What's wrong?" she whispered, noticing the lights at the same moment as the words left her lips. Pale blue lights were following them, keeping pace. They reminded her a little of Shippo's kitsunebi, but they felt much colder. In fact, the air around them was growing colder; she could see Dog's breath in the air as he panted.

"What are they?" she whispered, leaning closer to his neck. He rumbled at her, as if in warning, then put on a tremendous burst of speed. She leaned forward, grasping onto him with both arms, tightening her thighs against his sides and clenching her teeth to stop whimpering in pain as her torn fingers flexed against him. She glanced sideways, dark hair streaming out behind her like a pennant in the wind. The lights were still keeping pace with them, they were on both sides of them now. Dog was panting louder – it seemed even monstrous dogs had their limits. Kagome realised to her horror that the lights were gaining on them, had got ahead of them. They were surrounded.

Dog growled and then skidded to a stop, Kagome clinging to him tightly, her eyes shut. As soon as they came to a halt, she scrambled off Dog's shoulders, twisting her bow in her hands and nocking an arrow in readiness, grimacing as her injured fingers took the strain of the bowstring. Dog stood, hackles raised, his thundering growl terrifying. Kagome was profoundly glad he seemed to be on her side at the moment. She racked her brain, trying to think what these might be. These lights seemed to have an energy that her miko senses was familiar with. She suddenly gasped in recognition. "They're souls – ghosts!"

Okay… ghosts. Think, Kagome, think! Usually, souls lingered in the material world because they had a task to complete, or they were wronged, or they hadn't received the correct burial rites. If she solved their problems, they should move on. But… there were so many. Hundreds. She lowered her bow, realising that she couldn't fight them with a physical weapon. She was going to have to try and appease them somehow. The air she breathed in was icy as the blue flames drifted closer, and she shivered, not just because of the cooler temperature.

The air around them seemed to shimmer with malevolent intent. They were angry. If she could figure out why they were angry, maybe she could help them somehow. But it could be millions of reasons! The lights were beginning to tighten in a circle around them, and suddenly a tree close by began to smoulder and burn. Dog snarled, making her jump.

What… what if they were chained here, like Dog was in the maze? Kept from moving on by Jareth to be an obstacle? If she offered a purification prayer, combining it with her miko energy, would that be enough? She backed closer to Dog, putting her bow and quiver down on the ground. She could feel the stiffness of his muscles, he was practically vibrating in anger.

"Dog?" she whispered, keeping her eyes on the lights around them, as a second and third tree caught fire. "I think they might be trapped. Like you were. I want to try something. I… I don't know if it will work though. I've never tried to do this with one spirit before, let alone this many." She heard Dog rumble, which could have meant anything, but she decided to take it to mean that he understood her.

She sat cross legged on the ground, closing her eyes, desperately trying to calm her mind, thankful that she'd began learning to put up spiritual barriers with Miroku and Kaede. She breathed out, trying to block the increasing volume of Dog's growls, the anger rippling in the air, the smoke from the fires, the crackling that was getting closer… they were going to burn, burn to death, and she'd never get to the castle in time and Inuyasha would… no, no, calm.

Calm.

Breathe.

Still.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

She pushed out hesitantly with her spiritual energy, and immediately felt the spirits pushing back, hammering blows against her that felt just as painful as if they were beating her physically. She whimpered, but continued, beginning to chant the Shinto purification prayer that she knew as well as herself, that had been a part of her since childhood. She was suddenly reminded of her father, chanting with her grandfather at the shrine when she was small, and she took strength from the memory.

Push.

Chant.

Breathe.

Push.

Chant.

Breathe.

The blows continued, but she ignored them, concentrating only on the thought that she meant no harm, just wanted them to move on, wanted them to find peace. She was so _tired_, but she thought of Inuyasha, he wouldn't give up, he would keep fighting, no matter what.

Push.

Chant.

Breathe.

Push.

Chant.

Breathe.

She could feel heat, burning heat, getting closer. She refused to open her eyes. A burning coal landed on her knee, sizzling her skin, but she concentrated, buoyed by the fact that the spiritual blows had lessened. And then they stopped.

She struggled to open her eyes; they felt too heavy. She coughed, eyes watering, breathing in the smoke that surrounded them, flames on all sides. The spirit lights were gone, but the physical fire remained. She turned her streaming eyes to Dog, wanting to apologise.

"I'm sorry Dog. I took too long", she coughed, feeling herself sway as she sat. She was so tired. Maybe if she laid down and had a nap, when she woke up, this would all be over. Her and Inuyasha would be back at Kaede's shrine, and this would all just be a bad dream that she could wake up from, a nightmare.

Dog growled and barked, grabbing her bow and quiver with his jaws and dropping down into a crouch next to her, his front paws almost in the flames.

"What?" she said stupidly, then realised that he wanted her to climb on his back. Could she do that? She wasn't sure she had the energy, but he seemed very insistent, so perhaps she could try. She leaned forwards, draping her arms over his shoulders and then struggled to get her legs to move. Just one last push, and maybe then she could rest. There.

She curled her arms around his neck, slumping forward, and felt his muscles tense under her and he jumped. They were flying. Now the air around them felt cooler. Dog was still running through the forest, away from the flames. She couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

"Good Dog", she murmured, grasping onto thick fur, feeling an answering rumble under her fingers as the world slipped away.


	5. Affection

AFFECTION

Inuyasha grimaced as he wandered a few paces behind Rory, chains looped around his wrists, the weight of the untransformed Tessaiga heavy and cool against his leg. This was so degrading! They'd got through the last few checkpoints fine with Rory's claim that he was 'moving the prisoner' – apparently there was one checkpoint left before they reached the surface.

"You're doing it again", murmured Rory out the side of his mouth. Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow at him.

"You're meant to be a beaten prisoner – stop swaggering around as if you own the place!"

"Keh. I don't swagger… much", grunted Inuyasha, but he slumped his shoulders again and bowed his head, making his feet drag. He hated this. Hated that he'd had to conceal the Tessaiga down one the legs of his hakama, hated that he wasn't tearing this place apart. But Rory was right – they needed to do this quickly and silently so they could find Kagome before Jareth intervened.

Inuyasha was confident about his fighting abilities with the Tessaiga, but he wasn't delusional. He'd felt how powerful Jareth was even as he drew his blade to protect Kagome, and Jareth was fast; as much as he hated to admit it, faster than him. As soon as they got out of here, Rory would be able to check the surveillance orb to see if it had picked up Kagome's whereabouts. The thought of Kagome still roaming around out there without his protection was doing weird things to his gut.

He felt inordinately proud that she'd managed to move faster than Jareth's stupid bauble. Not quite so proud that she'd risked her life to team up with a dangerous beast that could have taken her arm off. They would be having words as soon as he found her. He growled under his breath. That mutt better not turn on her or he'd obliterate it.

"Checkpoint", muttered Rory. Inuyasha let out a low rumble of dislike but nodded. Gods, he hated this. He could smell the fresh air, well, fresher air, coming from outside as they rounded the corner. It was still dark outside, and the long hallway was lit by flaming torches on the walls. He could immediately see that this checkpoint was different. Where previously each checkpoint had smaller goblins, slouching against the wall, some even dozing as they leaned, these two stood at attention and wore full armour.

The armoured guards stood silently either side of the stone archway, taller than Rory and Inuyasha despite their bowed legs, their faces covered with spiked helms. As Rory stepped forward, tugging on the chain linked to Inuyasha's wrists, the tall poleaxes clenched in the guards' armoured fists nearest to the open archway swung sideways and met with a resounding clang, creating a cross that barred their path to the dimly lit courtyard outside.

"Rank and File state your purpose", intoned the guard on the right in a raspy voice, the words echoing inside the helmet. As Rory began talking, Inuyasha examined the guards, keeping his head low, sniffing them surreptitiously. There was something about these two that wasn't right. The previous guards had been argumentative, complaining about processing paperwork and griping that Rory wasn't following dungeon protocol by transporting the prisoner before receiving word from higher up that Jareth was finished with the girl currently in the labyrinth.

These two stood loosely, but Inuyasha could feel a tenseness in the air. Their heartrates were elevated, he could smell the one on the left sweating, even though the air up here was much cooler than the lower levels where he'd first woken up in that pit. They didn't look like they were listening to Rory at all, and as the one on the left cocked his head slightly, Inuyasha got the impression that they were listening to other instructions somehow. He was sure of it when he saw the left guard widen his stance, as if readying for a fight. Inuyasha hadn't survived this long without listening to his gut, and he wasn't going to start now.

He tugged twice on the chain, trying to telegraph his suspicions to Rory without alerting the guards. He saw Rory's hand move behind his back, pointing to the left, then making a fist. Inuyasha had to force himself not to smirk, feeling a frisson of excitement pass through his limbs as he ran his tongue over his fangs. Finally! He was aching for a fight, had been since he woke up in this godawful place with Kagome missing. He tugged once more to let Rory know he understood, and as soon as Rory dropped the chain, he swung into action, grinning like a madman.

* * *

Inuyasha sniggered as they ran through the archway and out into the darkness, still amused by Rory's open-mouthed amazement at watching him instantly take out both guards with the length of chain attached to his wrists before they could even begin their attack. He paused for a moment to pull the Tessaiga out of his hakama and put it back in its rightful place, slung through the cords around his waist, and then continued his long loping run, Rory trailing behind.

They ran across the courtyard, Rory's boots slapping against the cobblestones, his breath coming out in rough pants as Inuyasha slowed his easy lope down a little so he could keep up. He'd been watching Rory's body language as they'd gradually made their way through the keep. Although he looked physically strong, with a lot of upper body strength, the human obviously wasn't a fighter, so Inuyasha had decided to quickly to take the guards out before Rory could injure himself. He'd been willing though, and that took guts, wanting to take on an armoured opponent without a weapon of your own.

He leapt to the top of the stone barricade, and then dropped back down with an annoyed sigh as he realised that Rory wouldn't be able to keep up. Rory flinched as Inuyasha dropped silently to land next to him, and then again as an alarm sounded in the keep behind them.

Inuyasha dropped into a squat in front of him. "Climb on", he said tersely, ready to spring over the wall. Rory hesitated.

"I'm not a child", he muttered.

"Get on now or stay behind", growled Inuyasha. "Your pride isn't worth Kagome's life."

Rory grumbled but moved towards him. As soon as he felt Rory's hands on his shoulders, Inuyasha leapt over the wall of the keep, bounding over rooftops of the small goblin houses surrounding the castle, Rory's extra weight no encumbrance to his speed. He kept going, ignoring the chaos around them as goblin troops scattered, easily avoiding the arrows and small cannon fire aimed at them as they moved towards the main gate. He could feel the rapid beating of Rory's heart as another cannon ball whistled over their heads, and his muffled grunt as his fingers dug into his shoulders as Inuyasha changed direction abruptly to avoid more arrows.

"So much for escaping quietly", groaned Rory, gripping Inuyasha's shoulders tightly as they leapt over the last wall. They escaped into the junk heaps surrounding the goblin city, Inuyasha retching a little at the smell, but pausing a moment to look over his shoulder.

"Why aren't they following us?" he asked Rory, running again to put distance between them and the castle.

"The city garrison isn't allowed outside the gates", answered Rory in an unsteady voice, still feeling a little rattled by Inuyasha's leaping about. "That doesn't mean there aren't more soldiers around though. I don't know much about troops stationed outside the city." Inuyasha heard him take a deep shaky breath. "We should probably stop somewhere and see where your girl is before we head too far in any direction."

Inuyasha sprinted towards the dark forest beyond the rubbish heaps. The trees glowed strangely, and his nose wrinkled in disgust at the smell.

"Stop, stop…", yelled Rory. "We don't want to go in there." Inuyasha skidded to a halt, and Rory slid down off his back, very glad to have his feet back on the ground. Inuyasha looked at him quizzically, his dark eyebrows raised.

Rory rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I've never seen anyone come out of that forest alive", he said sadly. "No one escapes the blue fires."

Inuyasha snorted. "Maybe _humans_ don't survive…", he began and then realised the possible ramifications of what he'd said. "Get that ball out so we can find Kagome", he said gruffly, trying to push down the panicked feeling rising in his chest again.

Rory sat down in the dirt at the edge of the forest and produced the small glass sphere from his pocket. He looked at the sphere dubiously for a moment, then sighed in relief as the ball expanded as it had before. "I wasn't sure if it would work outside the castle", he explained to Inuyasha, floating the ball between them.

At first the view inside the ball was dark, with very little to be seen. "Are you sure it's working?" grunted Inuyasha, fidgeting as he sat on his haunches, the claws on his hands scratching in the dirt impatiently. "I don't have time to sit around and look at nothing!"

"Wait…", said Rory uncertainly. "I don't think that's just darkness. It looks like smoke."

There was a flash of white within the ball, a glow of red, and then nothing but a pink haze. "I'm sure that's Kagome's reiki", muttered Inuyasha, flexing his claws in the dirt and leaning in closer as if it would help him to see better. "She's set a barrier, so she must be under attack!"

"A barrier?" Rory asked, his eyes squinting at the globe. The pink haze glowed brighter and was suddenly obscured by blue flame. "Wait, she's a ban-draoidh?"

"I don't know what that means!" snarled Inuyasha, leaping to his feet. "What are these blue flames?" He paced in front of the glowing sphere, his fists clenched in anger.

"I don't know what they are, just that no one survives them. Sometimes they surround a person, sometimes they start real fires. All I know is that I've never seen anyone get past them. This…", Rory swallowed thickly, "the blue flames are what burned…" He didn't finish the sentence, but he didn't have to.

Inuyasha's nose tilted into the air, sniffing, and he suddenly bolted away, heading directly into the forest, out of Rory's sight in moments. The night breeze shifted as Rory gazed after Inuyasha in astonishment, and then even he could smell a faint hint of smoke over the rotting scent of the forest.

Rory hesitated for a moment, wondering what to do. Should he stay and wait, or should he follow? He glanced back down at the scene in the ball, but there was too much smoke to make out anything clearly. Inuyasha wasn't human, so he probably didn't really need his help. Even though he was strong by human standards, his trade as a blacksmith had required him to be, he'd never been trained as a fighter and had definitely never fought against anything like that blue fire. He sighed as he pocketed the ball, looking into the forest and moving from one foot to the other in indecision. Finally, muttering under his breath, he sprinted into the forest in the direction that Inuyasha had headed in.

Inuyasha tore through the forest like a whirlwind, uncaring of the trail he left behind him for any of Jareth's army that might be outside the goblin city walls. If they wanted to track him, let them!

The smell of smoke was growing stronger, and he followed his nose, hoping it would lead him directly to Kagome. He was desperate to find her, knowing that although her skills at manipulating reiki and placing barriers were improving with Kaede and Miroku's training, she was still learning and tired easily. She would have only used one as a last resort, if she was unable to fire her purifying arrows. He thought of her damaged hand and then pushed himself to run faster, terrified of what he might see when he found her.

His ears picked up the snarls long before he saw anything, and he righted his course to head more in that direction. He instinctively understood their meaning; they were protective in nature, and he realised that the huge black dog must still be with Kagome. He wanted to grin and snarl at the same time. Was there anything his wench couldn't charm to her side?

His skin began to tingle, and he recognised that Kagome was pushing her barrier outwards. Stupid girl! Hadn't she been listening when Kaede had warned her about what could happen if she exhausted herself overusing her reiki? At best her body would save her by making her pass out, but if she drained herself entirely, she could damage her soul beyond repair.

He could see the pink glow now, the surface of the dome covered in pale blue flames. The trees surrounding it were on fire, burning with a ferocious heat, and he realised with a gut-wrenching surge of fear that even though a barrier would stop any spiritual attacks, it wouldn't keep her safe from fire. If she passed out, she wouldn't be able to escape the flames.

There was a sudden surge of energy, and the barrier pushed outwards. The blue flames began changing to white orbs, and Inuyasha recognised them for what they were. Souls. So many lost souls. He slowed down his headlong dash as he realised the barrier was coming towards him, and there would be no way to avoid it. He watched the souls float upwards. Some seemed to go willingly, others clung to Kagome's barrier, trying to keep their blue flames.

"You're a hard man to keep up with, you know that?" said a male voice gasping behind him. Rory bent over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "Why did you stop?"

He stood and then gasped again as he saw the pink dome and the blue flames and white orbs. "Wraiths!"

"Souls", corrected Inuyasha. "I don't understand why they're here though, and why they would be attacking Kagome." Kagome's barrier was approaching, and he could feel the spiritual energy sizzling against his skin. He started to run forwards again, but was pulled back as Rory grabbed his suikan, a look of horror on his face.

"What if they're…?" He dropped Inuyasha's sleeve and dashed towards the lights. "Fenella!" he screamed, almost falling as he ran.

Inuyasha bounded forwards, grabbing Rory by the back of his leather jerkin. "Don't get yourself killed idiot!" He braced himself as he felt the approaching barrier wash over them, ashamed to feel his eyes closing as he winced, waiting for the intense burning pain that being purified into his human form would bring, but it didn't eventuate. There had been a surge of heat, but it didn't feel like an attack.

He opened his eyes to see the forest around them on fire, hearing barks and growls from where the flames were hottest, and the soft murmur of Kagome's voice. Suddenly the black dog bounded over the top of the flames with a barely conscious Kagome balanced precariously on its back, heading towards them.

Inuyasha could see the dog's exhaustion, as it tried to run past them on obviously burned paws, trying to avoid a confrontation. He heard Kagome murmur "Good Dog", and then watched her slump into unconsciousness, her body almost sliding off the dog's high back.

Inuyasha leapt in front of the black dog, giving a deep rumbling growl that he was sure the dog would understand as a warning of his possessiveness of Kagome, rather than direct aggression.

The dog regarded him cautiously, rumbling protectively as Inuyasha approached. He took a chance on speaking rather than growling; he'd seen Kagome talking to the dog on the surveillance sphere, so obviously it understood human language. Even though it wasn't a demon, it was obviously more intelligent than just a dog. Maybe the labyrinth's version of a nekomata like Kirrara, but in dog form?

"Kagome is part of my pack", he said, stopping a few feet away from the dog. "Smell her, and you'll know that I'm not lying. Scent doesn't lie."

He wanted nothing more than to leap and snatch up Kagome, he was almost vibrating with suppressed tension, but he didn't know how injured she was. And she trusted this dog. Usually Inuyasha would take that with a grain of salt because of her annoying tendency to assume that everyone she met had the best intentions, look at Koga for fuck's sake, but he had seen the dog save Kagome with his own eyes, which counted for something at least.

The dog backed away from him on its freakishly long legs, but turned its head momentarily to sniff Kagome, then turned back to scent the air in front of Inuyasha. The dog grunted and then lowered itself down to the forest floor slowly, looking over its shoulder to ensure Kagome wasn't going to slide off. It wuffed to Inuyasha and then grumbled a low growl, which Inuyasha understood to mean that he trusted him enough to pick up his pack mate and then back off.

Inuyasha approached carefully, trying to judge Kagome's injuries before he picked her up. He could smell fresh blood; not a life-threatening amount, but he couldn't see where she was injured as she was slumped face down over the dog's shoulders, her arms and legs dangling. The metallic scent of dried blood covering her previously damaged hand and arm and the acrid stench of burnt flesh on her leg made it hard to smell anything specific anyway.

He decided to take a chance and carefully rolled her towards him before picking her up into his arms and backing away, keeping his eyes on the dog rather than Kagome. He needed to keep his wits about him until he had her safely away.

The dog rumbled a quiet warning growl, which Inuyasha understood to mean 'I don't want to start anything but get out of my personal space before I bite you.'

Inuyasha rumbled back and then turned around, purposely showing the dog a level of trust by showing him his back. He heard the dog give an amused snort, then the sound of it gently licking the burns on its paws.

Inuyasha finally risked looking down at Kagome, realising why he'd thought he could smell a fresh injury. Blood was trickling out of her nose, but not a huge amount. She'd probably given herself a nosebleed from the effort of raising the barrier. He sat down, leaning his back against a tree and cradling Kagome in his lap. The weird green glow from the tree behind them gave her already pale skin a deathly pallor, and a sudden fear hit him, even though he could hear her steady heartbeat, feel her shallow breaths on his hand as he wiped the sticky blood away from her nose and lips with the sleeve of his suikan.

"Kagome", he said softly, pushing the sweaty dark hair away from her pale face. "Stop mucking around wench and open your eyes." He was surprised to see his hand was shaking. "C'mon, don't keep me waiting Kagome. You know I don't like waiting."

He tore his eyes away from her pale face, examining the rest of her, trying to judge if there were any other injuries that he might have missed that would cause her to lose consciousness. He scowled at the blistered burn on her leg, its size a little less than the breadth of his palm, realising that he didn't have any water to treat it. It would probably hurt her when she woke up, but it didn't look too serious though. He was more worried about the injury on her hand, remembering the glint of bone under the blood dripping from her fingers.

Her fingers looked swollen and purpled above the torn cloth bandage, and he wondered if the bones could possibly be broken. She had such little hands compared to his, so pale compared to his naturally darker skin. Hands that were always busy doing something. What if her hand had been so injured that it would heal crippled? He almost whined out loud, calling out to her again softly, but she didn't stir.

He leant over to sniff the injury and let out a relieved sigh when he couldn't smell any infection. That didn't mean that it would remain that way if it wasn't treated though. He could rebandage it with fresh cloth from his white hadagi, but he wasn't sure if disturbing it now when they couldn't apply medicine from Kagome's bag would be better or worse.

He wished now he'd paid more attention when Kagome had talked about healing wounds when she treated Miroku and Sango; he'd never felt the need, seeing his hanyou metabolism healed wounds much faster. Previously he'd always licked them clean and found a safe place to sleep it off for a day or so. But now that Kagome was around, she stubbornly insisted on treating and bandaging him too, despite his protests.

He always made a fuss to cover the embarrassing fact that he enjoyed her attention. Enjoyed the exasperated expression she always had on her face as she cleaned his injuries, a mixture of anger and affection as she berated him for leaping into danger without thinking. Enjoyed the soft stroke of her fingers on his skin as she applied ointments and wrapped bandages. Enjoyed the delicate touch of her fingers on his ears when she thought he was asleep. She hated it when he was hurt, she'd said so many times as she bandaged his wounds, but it was unavoidable as long as their battle against Naraku continued. She thought he was heedless of danger, but that was untrue. His one purpose in their group was to protect; if he failed in his duty, she might suddenly realise how unworthy he really was.

He suddenly remembered Rory, wondering if he had any experience with treating human wounds. He might even know if there were something like a healer nearby. He looked up to search for him and his amber eyes opened wide in astonishment at what he saw.

Rory was slumped onto his knees, his palms facing upwards in his lap. Tears poured down his face as he looked upwards into a glowing mist that floated in front of him. Inuyasha looked away not wanting to intrude, but he couldn't stop his ears hearing Rory's tear choked whispers.

"I would have lived a life with you Fenella. You were so beautiful, so loving. I couldn't have wished for a better wife." The mist swirled around Rory, glowing intensely. "I know. I… understand. I will love you always." He watched as the mist condensed back into a smaller glowing orb, then rose slowly into the sky. Rory let out a long shuddering sigh. "Goodbye mo anam cara…"

Inuyasha gritted his teeth, the back of his eyes burning. He never usually allowed himself to feel empathy for others, but right now, with Kagome injured and unconscious in his lap, he understood how easily the tables could be turned, with him being the one having to say good bye to her forever, and he knew. Knew that he didn't want to do that until they were both old and grey and had lived a full life side by side. He had always held back his feelings, afraid of what she might say, afraid that history might repeat itself.

A single tear rolled down his face as he stroked Kagome's pale cheek gently, careful of his claws.

"Please wake up koibito".

He sensed Rory walking towards them and squatting down on the ground next to them, but he kept his eyes on Kagome's pale face as he struggled to get his emotions under control.

"She saved them, you know", Rory whispered hoarsely. "All the souls of the girls that had died here in the Labyrinth were trapped without a clear way to leave. She showed them how to go home." He let out a ragged sigh. "Is she badly injured?"

"I don't know", Inuyasha growled, pulling Kagome in tightly against his chest and keeping his face averted from Rory. "I can't find anything apart from the burn on her leg and where her hand was injured before. I don't know if it's broken. I don't know for sure why she's unconscious, but I think it's because she overused her abilities as a miko." Rory sighed again.

"I don't know anything about draoidhean and ban-draoidh, and I'm not a healer. I'm a blacksmith by trade, but I know enough about healing to set bones. Will you let me see?"

He waited patiently as Inuyasha clutched Kagome to him tighter. "I promise, I would never willingly hurt the one who was able to set my Fenella free."

Inuyasha laid Kagome down on the ground with care. He lifted her damaged hand and gently used the claw on his forefinger to slice through the makeshift bandage, wincing as he pulled the blood stiffened cloth away. He couldn't help the small whine that escaped him; it looked even worse than he remembered.

The bones of her middle three fingers were clearly visible between her knuckles and first joints, the torn skin ragged, and her swollen fingertips were a mottled purple. Without even thinking about it, he gently licked the wounds clean of dried blood, continuing over the back of her hand to the claw marks on her wrist.

Rory raised a single eyebrow, but said nothing, watching as Inuyasha tenderly laid her hand back down on her stomach and then shrugged off his suikan so he could tear a strip off the bottom of his white undershirt for a new bandage.

"Well, get on with it!" huffed Inuyasha. He watched as Rory gently felt along the edges of Kagome's fingers, careful to avoid touching the open wounds. Rory paused as Kagome moaned in her sleep, glancing up as Inuyasha growled at him, and then flinching a little as he heard a similar growl coming from the gigantic black dog resting behind them.

"Should I be worried that I'm about to be torn to pieces?" Rory said with deliberate lightness to Inuyasha, his sudden fear only betrayed by the slight tremor in his fingers and the sound of his rapidly beating heart.

"No, he's just repeating what I said, which is to be fucking careful with her", snarled Inuyasha. Rory held up his both hands in a gesture of surrender.

"It's very difficult to examine someone with an injury like that and not cause some amount of pain", he said very carefully. He smiled a little at Inuyasha's grumpy nod of agreement.

"I don't think her fingers are broken, although it is possible that there might be very small cracks that I can't feel", he continued, "but an open wound like that with exposed bone will usually become infected very quickly. If we were at my village the healer would probably stitch the wound closed and pack it with a poultice before bandaging it, but there's nothing in this forest that I would trust anywhere near an open wound. The air has an unwholesome quality to it."

"Yeah, I know, it fucking stinks in here", muttered Inuyasha.

"You probably helped a lot by licking it clean", said Rory, "so the best we can do is bandage it well and hope for the best until we get somewhere where there is a healer."

Inuyasha watched as Rory carefully bandaged Kagome's fingers together for support, covering the rest of her hand and the claw marks on her wrist too. As soon as he was finished, Inuyasha gently gathered Kagome's limp form back into his lap, stroking her dark hair away from her face with his claws.

"Does she know?" asked Rory softly.

"Know what?" grumbled Inuyasha.

"Know that you love her", said Rory. Inuyasha's claws paused momentarily, but then he continued brushing back Kagome's hair without comment.

"You should tell her", said Rory gently. He looked up at the starless sky above them. "All I can think of now are the years that I lived in the same village with Fenella, admiring her from afar without declaring my love for her. When we were finally married, I found out that she had also loved me, but took my silence to mean indifference. We could have been together for longer, begun a family."

He chuckled without humour. "But perhaps it is better this way. I can hardly bear it now. Who knows how I would feel if we had been together for longer?" He stood, muttering under his breath "I don't even know how long I've been here in this godforsaken place – for all I know she could have been dead for years. But it hurts as if it were yesterday."

A sudden whimper drew Inuyasha's attention downwards. Kagome's eyes flickered open and she stared at him groggily, eyes unfocused as he stroked her cheek.

"Kagome", he whispered. Suddenly her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm so sorry!" she sobbed. "I failed and we're both dead!"

"Oi, stop the waterworks!" grinned Inuyasha, his thumbs moving to stroke the hot tears away gently. "Speak for yourself wench. I don't know about you, but I'm very much alive." Kagome hiccupped.

"We're not dead?" Inuyasha shook his head. "This isn't heaven?" Inuyasha snorted.

"I'm a half-demon Kagome. It's very doubtful I'd be in a place like heaven."

"Don't tell me what to think Inuyasha! If it's my heaven, then you'd be in it!" said Kagome dazedly, her eyes still a little unfocused, not noticing Inuyasha's suddenly reddened cheeks, and the amused snorts coming from both a man and a dog sitting nearby. She moved to sit up, then grabbed Inuyasha's suikan. "Ow…"

Inuyasha pushed her back down gently as she closed her eyes. "Maybe you should stay down for a little minute. Is it your hand?"

"No, that actually feels a little better. My head feels much worse", she said through gritted teeth. Her eyes suddenly popped open again and she forced herself upright despite Inuyasha's efforts to make her stay still.

"Show me! What did Jareth do to you!" Her eyes focused on the bloodied matted hair near his ear, and her trembling fingers parted his hair, frantically searching for an injury. "I heard your skull crack Inuyasha – I thought he'd killed you!"

"Kagome calm down! I'm fine dammit!" Inuyasha gently prised the frantic fingers out of his tangled hair and cushioned them between his own larger ones. He grinned at her, one fang hooking over his bottom lip, hoping to get her to smile at him. "C'mon wench. You're always telling me what a thick skull I've got. No one's strong enough to crack it. I'm a bone-headed jerk, remember?"

Kagome stared at him, her dark brown eyes wide, bottom lip trembling. "I was so worried Inuyasha. I… I thought I'd never see you again!"

Inuyasha looked back at her. This is where he usually made a stupid comment to make her laugh or make her angry, anything to get her off track from talking about how he felt, or how she felt. But this time…

He let go of her shaking fingers and cradled her face in his hands. "Me too, my Kagome. Me too…"

And as his lips touched hers, he knew there was no turning back.

* * *

_Meh. I'm still not happy with this chapter. Maybe I can come back and do more polishing after this fic is finished. Anyway, there's a few phrases I've used that you might not be familiar with…_

_Wraith: a Scottish dialectal word for "ghost" or "spirit"_

_draoidhean and ban-draoidh: Scots gaelic – druids and a female druid. A magic user._

_mo anam cara: gaelic – my soul friend, or soul mate. The ancient Celts believed in a soul that radiated about the body. They believed that when two individuals formed a deep and lasting bond that their souls would mingle. Therefore, each person could be said to have found their "anam cara", or "soul friend"._

_Koibito: lover, sweetheart. I want it to mean sweetheart in this context._


	6. Jealousy

JEALOUSY

Jareth drummed his fingers on the rounded arm of his gold edged throne, his interest captured by the scene unfolding in front of him. He reached out to take the goblet offered by one of his subjects without comment, his eyes never leaving the floating sphere that tracked the girl's progress, and his usually expressionless mouth quirked up in a sardonic smile. Usually it would be all over by now, with the girl's soul added to the others, the movement of her spirit to the next world hindered by his labyrinth.

He sipped from the goblet, watching her movements as she dropped her bow to the ground and sat with her legs crossed, eyes closed. The corners of his mouth turned down in disappointment. Surely, she wasn't giving up? His interest had been piqued by her success in taming the barguest. When he had lost her progress in the maze for a short while, he had almost felt a thrill of… excitement perhaps?

But it appeared she wasn't giving up. A rose-coloured barrier shimmered into place over the girl and the barguest, who was actively snarling and pacing, but unable to damage the flames with his aggression. The girl was showing evidence of her spiritual powers as she began to fight off the will-o'-the-wisps in the haunted forest by increasing the radius of the barrier. Jareth swirled the amber liquor contained in his goblet and took a large sip; he hated to admit it, but he was intrigued by this slip of a girl. He had sensed that she had some latent spiritual energy when he had first taken her and the dog demon, but this was… interesting.

He had first created the labyrinth a millennium ago in response to an argument with a younger female fey from the Seelie Court. He had always hated court gatherings. So many rules, especially in the Golden Court of the Faerie Queen. He had been paired with her during the Summer solstice faerie ride, before he had become the Goblin King. Back then he was still part of the Spring and Summer court, chafing under the weight of rules and traditions that felt like a tight noose around his neck. Back when he had just begun his quiet campaign to throw his allegiance in with the Unseelie Court, before he realised that increased power and total domination of his paltry subjects did not equal happiness, but emptiness.

He and the female fey had little in common. Then their initially stilted conversation had moved to the subject of humans – a subject he had little patience with. She had defended the strength and steadfastness of mortal love with all the passion and emotion one would expect of a fey of the Spring court, and he had to admit, he was moved by her ethereal beauty, which was only enhanced by her righteous indignation at some of his views.

She was a pretty little thing, with dark curling hair and pale blue eyes, her dress a shimmering mixture of pale greens. He had enjoyed imagining the vision of loveliness that might lie under the long green skirt which spread out over the horse's flank as she rode side saddle on the pure white mare, imagining her possible reaction if he tore the embroidered artistry of her kirtle to reveal the pale flesh underneath. The bells in her horse's white mane had tinkled as they moved, a contrast to the silence of the taller black stallion that he rode.

After they'd gone their separate ways as the ride ended, he'd wondered what it would be like to see her again, to have a reason to continue the conversation the next time he saw her. It would be worth some effort to see the pale pink rise in her cheeks in anger, blue fire burning in her gaze.

When he finally gained dominion over his new realm, he'd decided to test her statement, forcing his subjects to create the labyrinth with his castle at the centre. At first it had been purely for research sake, so he could discuss his findings with the fey maiden should their paths ever cross again, but now, centuries later, it was his favourite game, its original purpose almost forgotten.

It was amusing to watch the women struggle to find their partner after their separation. Entertaining to watch men, who considered themselves strong, restrained and forced to watch their partner's eventual demise before he added them to be forgotten as one of his many guards.

During his earlier selections, he'd placed some single women in the maze for control purposes, because if one was carrying out an experiment, one should do the task comprehensively. It did seem to be true that the females with a partner at risk had tried harder, perhaps. It was also unfortunate that some maidens fell at the first major obstacle, which was disappointing, especially when he'd made the effort to bring them here. It smacked of ingratitude, and he'd decided to be more discerning in bestowing his favour as he searched for subjects to run through the maze.

Now he chose only the best, after watching them for a short period of time. Those that would risk themselves without thought to save an infant usually had an adventurous heart. If their male partner supported them in their search, rather than dragging them to heel, perhaps that could be considered proof of affection and so-called love.

This time he had chosen well. It seemed this young girl might be one of the first in a century to actually get close to completing the task that he'd set her. Not that she would of course. They seemed not to realise that the end was a forgone conclusion – they belonged to him as soon as he took them. He almost chuckled as he watched the cleansing wave of the miko's spiritual power help the trapped souls on to their rest. No matter, there would be plenty more to replace them soon enough.

And then he saw him. The dog demon, who was supposedly chained in the oubliette to await a memory cleansing after the girls eventual death. Saw him confront the barguest and pick up the girl. Saw him clean her injuries. Saw him _kiss_ her. A strange new emotion gripped his chest, made him fling the goblet of faerie liquor against the wall in rage. This insult was not to be borne. The girl was his. He had chosen her. The demon had no longer the right to touch her. He would _eviscerate_ him.

But then another thought entered his head. Perhaps it was time to add a new layer to his game, after so many centuries without change. He had always tested the love of the female of the union, but not the male, because watching them struggle in the maze did not interest him. But perhaps… he would make the demon an offer of what he had always wanted but never had and see if he would still choose the girl. And there was the matter of a guard that needed punishment also.

Jareth moved towards the stone edged windows at the edge of his courtroom, looking out at the perfection of darkness untouched by starlight. He opened his hand and flexed his thin graceful fingers, watching as three clear crystals appeared in his palm, their flawless surface moving without sound as he twirled them and sent them floating off to complete his purpose. He grinned hungrily as they disappeared from view. He hadn't had this much fun in literally ages…

* * *

Inuyasha pulled himself back from the kiss with an effort, his heart hammering. Kagome's lips were so soft, so yielding in the way they had moved against his, but he had to be sure that he wasn't forcing this on her. He examined her expression carefully, looking for any sign of disgust, any trace of fear, but there was none. There were tears in her eyes, but that only made the wide smile on her face seem more radiant.

"Inuyasha…", she whispered softly, her uninjured left hand coming up to gently stroke his cheek, her fingers sifting upwards through his hair to gently tug at his ear, and he felt himself drop the weight of his head against her palm, a small whimper escaping before he could smother it, almost ready to weep in relief. A small cough from behind them broke the moment. Dammit! Pushing down a snarl, he dragged his gaze from Kagome to the apologetic form of Rory standing close by.

"My apologies Inuyasha", he said, pointedly looking to one side, the gruffness of his voice revealing his obvious embarrassment. "Usually I would not interrupt such tenderness, but…"

"But what!" fumed Inuyasha, wanting to jump to his feet in rage, but choosing to pull Kagome closer to him instead, tucking her head under his chin. They'd only just found each other again. Why was there always someone interrupting! Nosy monks, inquisitive kitsunes, oblivious younger brothers. He had had it. If they got interrupted just one more time, he would take Kagome to the ends of the earth and stay there with her. Fuck Naraku. Fuck Jareth. Just… He couldn't help the low rumble of frustration that left his throat, that wasn't helped by Kagome's small giggle at his expense.

Rory continued; his gaze still averted. "We're still in Jareth's labyrinth. His surveillance orbs are locked in on Kagome's presence in the maze. Now that we are close to her, we will also be visible…"

"And?" snorted Inuyasha.

"And", continued Rory, finally turning his face towards the couple, his voice sounding less apologetic by the minute, "now that he knows you two are together! I have never seen this happen before, so I am unsure of how he will react! We have to be prepared and on our guard!"

Inuyasha thought for a moment. He guessed Rory had a point, even though he didn't want to move from his current position. But keeping Kagome safe had to be his number one priority. "Fine", he muttered with ill grace. He helped Kagome to her feet, wincing in sympathy at her sharp intake of breath as she stood, holding her head for a moment, then rumbling in discontent as she stepped away from him.

"Where do you think you're goin' Kagome?" he grumped, holding on to her shoulder.

"Well, I have to check on Dog, and make sure he's okay. And just because you're too rude to introduce me to your new friend doesn't mean I have to lower myself to your level", Kagome teased. She softened the teasing tone by placing a small kiss to his cheek, smiling gently at the small blush her kiss provoked. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to Rory, who surprised her by dropping to one knee in front of her.

"I offer you a bond of service, Sorceress." Kagome looked down at him in dismay.

"Um, what's going on?" she said looking from Rory to Inuyasha. Rory dropped his gaze to the ground. "Please", she said softly, "don't kneel. I don't know what you think I may have done, but there is no reason for another person to ever kneel in front of me in this way. Um…" She looked over her shoulder again at Inuyasha, at a loss of who this person was, and what she should do.

Inuyasha came to stand behind her and sighed heavily. There was no easy way to explain this, and he knew her soft heart would be upset. "Kagome, this is Rory. He was a guard in the castle, but only because Jareth had stolen his memory. He was taken with his wife, just like we were." He heard Kagome's sharp intake of breath.

Rory stood slowly, but kept his head bowed, his shaggy red fringe hiding his eyes. "You set her free. I know I can never hope to repay such a gift, but I pledge my service, such as it is."

Kagome still felt at a loss. "I'm sorry, I still don't understand." Inuyasha dropped his head on top of hers.

"She was one of the souls trapped here in the forest Kagome", he said a little gruffly, kissing the top of her head. "When you pushed your barrier outward, I think you cleared a way for them to move on. You gave him a chance to say goodbye."

Kagome gasped, one hand covering her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm so sorry!" She shook her head vehemently. "Please, you don't owe me anything! I could feel that they were angry and upset, and I just wanted to help. I didn't even know if what I tried would work." Her bottom lip trembled. "There were so many. Were they all…?"

"All women captured by Jareth and forced into running his Labyrinth?" replied Rory, his head still bowed, jaw muscles clenching as he struggled to get his emotions under control. "Yes. Where I come from, there is an understanding that spirits and fey prefer to travel in a straight line, and we keep the way open and clear for them, so they do not become confused and angry. They were all trapped here, all unwillingly part of Jareth's game."

"Rory?"

Rory couldn't help but look up, when the soft female voice that had spoken his name was so full of compassion. His throat felt thick and the backs of his eyes burned with unwelcome tears as he gazed into the tear-filled brown eyes of the girl in front of him.

"I don't want your service, but if you want, I'd like to be your friend. You helped Inuyasha escape", she felt Inuyasha nod behind her, "so any debt you feel you owe me has more than been repaid." Her right hand was injured, so she held out her left shakily. "Do you think we could help each other find a way home?"

Rory looked toward Inuyasha first, who rolled his eyes. "Kagome chooses who she wants to be friends with. I ain't got no say in it." Rory nodded, then squeezed her hand briefly before letting go.

Kagome smiled at him, then moved towards the huge black dog.

"Dog, are you okay?" An explosive canine snort was her answer, and the dog went back to licking his front paws.

She heard Inuyasha chuckle behind her. "You called him Dog? Real inventive Kagome."

Kagome turned and looked over her shoulder at him, struggling to stop the smile that wanted to beam, just because he was here, he was alive, and he had finally, _finally_ kissed her.

"Shut up you. It's not like we had time to swap life stories! I've been a little busy." She turned back to Dog. "I want to thank you for all your help Dog. I wouldn't have been able to get out of those flames without you." Dog paused in his licking and rumbled at her.

Inuyasha rumbled back. "He said not to worry about it." Kagome turned and looked at him in astonishment.

"Wait, he said actual words?"

Inuyasha scratched behind one of his ears with his clawed fingers, thinking of how to explain. "Keh, dogs don't bother with all the fancy words you humans use. It's more about intent. Showing aggression and protectiveness to keep your pack safe. He doesn't need to be thanked, because he's already agreed to help you. You released him, and you're weaker than him, so therefore you're under his protection."

Kagome grinned at him. "Sounds like you two have a lot in common." Then her smile morphed into a puzzled frown. "Wait, how did you know I released him?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Show her Rory." He crossed his arms, a serious look on his face. "And when we're outta here, you and I are gonna have a _serious_ chat about putting yourself in dangerous situations when I'm not around Kagome. This dog could a taken your hand off without breakin' a sweat!"

Kagome reached up and stroked one of Dog's huge ears, which he acknowledged with another snort, tipping his head slightly to accommodate her shorter stature while continuing to lick his paws. "But he didn't", she replied softly.

Inuyasha scowled at her, his hands thrust into his sleeves. "Obstinate wench", he muttered.

Kagome poked her tongue out at him, letting go of Dog's ear with a final caress and walked back to stand beside Inuyasha. She watched as Rory produced a glass sphere from his pocket and she flinched, the unwanted memory of the sphere that left Jareth's palm and bulleted towards Inuyasha invading her already aching head, remembering the wet sound of it cracking his skull before either of them had time to react.

Seeing Kagome's reaction and smelling the slightly sour scent of fear, Inuyasha opened his arms, and Kagome found herself wrapped in a warm hug, her back pulled tightly against Inuyasha's chest. "S'ok Kagome", he whispered in her ear, his chin resting on her shoulder. "Nothin' to be afraid of. Rory's on our side, remember?"

Rory smiled and released the globe into the air between them, and it expanded.

Kagome gasped as she looked and saw a view of the four of them from directly above. "So you could see me the whole time?"

Inuyasha grunted. "Not the whole time. I was out of it for a bit", he confessed shamefacedly. "I saw when you released the dog, and I saw when you first put up the barrier against the blue flames, before I smelt the smoke and ran to find you." He pulled her against him even tighter and buried his nose in her hair. Nothing had ever frightened him as much as seeing Kagome alone and in danger with no physical way to reach her. She patted the strong arms curled around her waist gently.

"It's okay Inuyasha. We're all together now."

Kagome's eyes were drawn to three shimmering globes that appeared above the figures in the surveillance sphere. Before she even had time to react, she was pulled away from Inuyasha's arms and into a bubble exactly like the one that had brought them here before. Fear choked her throat as she saw Rory and Inuyasha imprisoned in a similar way, Inuyasha's fists slamming into the barrier with no effect. Her last view of him was his head shaking as if trying to clear it. She tried to scream his name, but darkness slammed into her mind, taking away her thoughts as she slid down the slick surface and puddled to the bottom of the floating prison.

She didn't see her companions fold and slump in a similar way, and didn't feel it as they all floated off in the direction of the dark castle at the centre of the labyrinth. She didn't hear the angry howl of a black dog beneath them, that continued to chase them as they left him far behind.


	7. Alternative Universe

ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE

Inuyasha groaned as the high-pitched beep of the timer alarm shrieked close to his ear. Keeping his eyes shut and yanking his pillow down so it covered the ears flattened close to his head, he thrust a clawed hand out, blindly patting around the cluttered bedside table until his fingers met with his phone so that he could shut off the god-awful racket.

He rolled onto his back, clutching the pillow close to his naked chest, squinting into the darkness of his room. He'd decided to have a nap after his shower before going to the dance at school, to delay the inevitable. He didn't really want to go, but the alternative was worse, because it was Friday. He hated Fridays, because not only did he have gym class with that asshole Kouga who baited him constantly with comments about hanyou being worth less than shit, but his half brother Sesshoumaru always came over for dinner. Being ignored at the school dance was infinitely better than sitting across from that cold-hearted prick for a couple of hours.

He scratched his stomach idly, wondering how his life could possibly get any worse. At least he wasn't living in the feudal era, where mistakes like hanyou were actively killed at birth by the demon parent of the union. Now _that_ had been an awesome moment in history class – everyone turning to give pointed looks towards his ears and then looking away. It wasn't like he was the only hanyou in highschool, there were a few others, even though the majority of the population were pure demon. He'd learned the hard way to keep under the radar at school, to do just enough to get by without drawing the attention of the higher-level demons that could kill him without even breaking a sweat.

Sometimes he wondered why he even existed. He knew his parents loved each other, but their relationship was unusual, now that humans were so rarely seen. Most demons didn't care one way or another, now that the peace pacts had been signed, but the majority of human communities continued to live in hiding to escape the persistent demon religious fanatics that still believed they should be wiped off the face of the Earth, so they didn't dilute the purity of demon genetics. He hadn't met any humans apart from his mother, and even she had _some_ latent demon DNA – it was hard to detect in her scent unless you concentrated, but it was definitely there. Purebred humans probably didn't even exist anymore. His father was very protective of his mother, and rightly so. Inuyasha couldn't bear the thought of her dying if one of those cultist nutters got their hands on her; either of them dying actually. He didn't have many friends, and life without them would be so lonely.

A weird sensation of wrongness made him feel uneasy for a moment, but he ignored it, grabbing the clothes he was going to wear to the dance out of his closet. He pulled the loose denim jeans on over his boxers, and shoved his arms through the sleeves of his plain red t-shirt, dragging his claws through his long snow-white hair to comb out any tangles, carefully avoiding the pointed dog ears that made him stand out so much at school. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. He didn't look terrible. It wasn't like he was trying to impress anyone anyway, so what was the point?

He jogged down the stairs and walked into the kitchen, where his mother was frying batches of chicken in hot oil. She smiled over her shoulder at him, and then continued on with her task. He was suddenly filled with the overwhelming need to be close to her, as if he hadn't seen her in forever, instead of just an hour ago. He walked over and hugged her from behind, snickering at her surprised squeal and resting his chin on top of her head.

That sudden feeling of wrongness hit him in the gut again. When had his mother gotten so short? Hadn't she always been taller than him? But that didn't make sense, he was just over six-foot tall and human women didn't usually end up being taller than that, did they? He stepped away uncertainly, pushing the feeling down.

"Inuyasha! Don't scare me like that when I'm cooking with hot oil!" she scolded, shaking the tongs at him. "Are you sure you won't stay for dinner? I know you and your brother..."

"_Half_-brother", he corrected, and she rolled her eyes.

"Half-brother then, don't get on very well, but these dinners are important to your father. He likes seeing his sons together."

"Nope. I told you, I already had plans to go to the dance at school."

His mother fished the last of the chicken out of the oil with the tongs and placed it with the rest on a paper towel covered plate, turning off the heat and moving the pan to the back of the stove. She carried the plate heaped high with chicken over to the table which was already set for three as Inuyasha sniffed the chicken appreciatively, putting it down in the centre next to the salad, pickles and rice.

"Is there an _important_ reason for your plans to ditch us then?" she said in a teasing tone. "Somebody you should bring back after the dance so your father and I can meet them?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Keh. Unlikely."

Something in his tone made her face move from a teasing smile to a look of empathy. "Oh, sweetheart, I know what it's like being someone that doesn't fit in."

She moved closer to him, choosing to ignore his effort to shrug it off. "One day, you're going to meet someone who sees _you_, not just the outside, but _all_ of you", she said, tapping his chest gently. "Your father saw the real me, despite all those years of being taught that humans weren't any better than animals, only worthy of being kept alive to hunt for sport. It's getting better now than it was. Someday, you're going to meet someone that you'll be happy to make your whole world."

He wanted to cringe away, embarrassed by the emotional topic, but her last sentence made him pause, and then it was like a lightbulb popped in his head. "Is that why I've never met any of your family?"

She sighed. "Most of my family died in the cleansing riots. There was only my grandfather and a family friend left in our group, and they didn't… understand my relationship with your father. When you've been frightened your whole life, sometimes it's hard to see others clearly, rather than see the monsters you've been told they are."

Inuyasha bent down and gave her a sudden squeezy hug, lifting her off her feet a little. "I don't know what I'd do without you and Pops, you know that?" The idea of having to live without his family felt like a nightmare that he would never want to experience for real. He shuddered, feeling the sudden weight of loss within his chest as if it had actually occurred. What on earth was up with his feelings tonight? He felt like a stranger in his own home, a place he had always lived with parents who loved him. He had always been here.

His mother chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. "I love you too Inuyasha. But if you're going to this dance, you should really be already out the door."

"Alright", he agreed, suddenly feeling uncertain about his plans to leave his home. He glanced out the window, frowning at how dark it was. It seemed much darker than it should be for this early in the evening. If he didn't know better, he would say it was past midnight. "The old man's gonna be home soon right? You're not gonna be here by yourself for long?"

His instincts were going haywire; he felt totally on edge, like he was somehow missing some unseen danger ever since he woke up from his nap, even though there was obviously nothing wrong. He'd lived in this house his whole life. It was a safe place; he knew that his father had been very careful when selecting where they would live, surrounded by neighbours who welcomed his human wife into their community.

His mother pushed him towards the back door. "Go on, I'll be fine. Your father called a few minutes ago and told me he was on his way home. Sesshoumaru should be here any minute." She grinned at the sudden annoyance on his face at the mention of his brother's name. "Maybe you should stay here after all; it looks like you'd really enjoy an evening in your brother's company."

"Fine, I'm leaving", he grunted, turning back to the table and stealing the largest piece of chicken to shove into his mouth, grinning as his mother swatted at him with the tea towel she had draped over her shoulder.

"Have you got your key? Your father said something about going out to get ice-cream when he dropped back Sesshoumaru. I might go with him for the drive, and I wouldn't want you to be locked out."

Inuyasha patted his pocket. "Yeah, I got it. You're gonna bring some home for me too, right?"

"I don't know", she teased, tapping her chin with her forefinger. "Have you been a good boy at school today?" She grinned at the scowl on his face. "Inuyasha, one day you're going to learn not to take the bait. It's so easy to tease you", she laughed. "I'll make sure we bring home a tub of honeycomb brittle for you too."

He took one last look at her smiling face as turned to walk out the back door. "I love you Ma."

"Love you too, pup", she said cheerfully, waving as he stepped out into the darkness, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Kagome ran through the playground, frantically looking for a hiding place in the darkness. Her lungs seared, her head ached, and her heart was pounding in her chest so loudly she was sure the demon chasing her would be able to hear it. Her worst fears were about to come true. All those warnings Gramps had given her about being out after dark and being taken by demons. She'd led such a sheltered life, didn't know much about the outside, didn't know how to fight, only how to run and she wasn't even doing that very well. If only Buyo hadn't run out of the shrine gates when she went to bring him inside for the night, she would be home now, tucked up safely in her bed, and not in the middle of this nightmare.

"Come out, come out wherever you are…" sang the demon in a playful tone. She knew it was only a matter of time. He was so fast, and she knew instinctively he was hunting her as a cat does a mouse, toying with her to draw out the game, enjoying her fear. She ducked down behind a low wall, cursing the fact she was wearing a bright yellow sundress that stood out in the darkness. She may as well have a neon sign over her head with an arrow that read 'victim here'. Her right hand bumped the rough bricks of the wall as she crouched down tightly and she almost whimpered. For some reason there was an agonising pain in her hand – it looked fine, but she couldn't even make a fist with it. Was it possible to break a bone without realising it? She put her other hand over her mouth, hoping it would block the loud sound of her ragged breathing.

"Boo!" said a voice above her, and he was there, grinning at her, his fangs glinting in the darkness, the long dark ponytail falling over his shoulder as he leaned over the low wall, his arm reaching out to grab her. She jumped to her feet and begun running again, only to pull up short when he leapt in front of her, landing lightly and gracefully, his leather boots making only a slight scuffing noise on the cement path. She backed away, frantically looking for a way to escape. She would never see her grandfather again. Never see her mother and father or little brother. And they'd never even know what happened to her.

"Aww, don't look so scared little girl", he crooned, following her staggering steps backwards with graceful movements. His fanged grin grew wider, his light blue eyes seeming to glow in the darkness. "I just wanna get to know you better. How about we go somewhere a little more _private_." She jolted to a stop as her shoulder collided with a tree behind her, almost falling, and the demon shot out a clawed hand, his fingers curling around her throat, sharp claws flexing against her soft skin. She forced herself to keep her eyes open as his face drew closer, sniffing the bare skin near her collarbone.

"Please, let me go", she said, doing her best to keep her voice firm, feeling her pulse hammer against the pressure of his hand around her throat. "I don't want to go _anywhere_ with you. Leave me alone."

The demon chuckled, drawing in a long deep breath through his nose. "I've never met a human that smelt as… delectable as you", he purred slowly, his claws digging in further so that a small trickle of blood oozed its way down the side of her neck. She shuddered as he leaned forward to lick the blood away, his eyes widening in surprise. "I don't believe it! A pure human! I didn't think there were any of you left." He nuzzled his nose into her neck as she fought not to whimper. "You're _delicious_. What am I going to do with you, sweetness?"

"You're going to let her go Kouga", growled a voice behind them. The demon clutching her throat laughed, not even bothering to turn and look.

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it, dog shit? It's not like a pitiful hanyou is any match for a pure-blooded demon like me. Go home and whine about it to your human mama."

"Let. Her. Go."

Kouga chuckled, turning his head only to be smacked in the jaw with Inuyasha's fist. Kagome shrieked as his claws dragged out of her neck, leaving deep scratches. She moved to the other side of the tree, her brain screaming at her to run, but her feet were reluctant. She wanted to stay. There was something about the voice of the other demon. She wanted to hear it again, even though everything that she'd ever been taught at the shrine was telling her she needed to get away from the demons who would only want to hurt her.

She peeked around the tree again, horrified by the brutality of the fight. The demons were pummelling each other, fists and claws tearing, fangs bared. The first demon was lighting fast with his kicks and punches, but there seemed to be something about the other demon. He was stubbornly standing his ground, dodging some hits and taking others, his long silvery hair shining in the darkness. He rocked back on his heels as he took a blow to the cheek, then he ducked under a flying fist and slammed a flurry of punches to the dark-haired demon's stomach, then followed it with a punch to his jaw, laying him out.

"Quick girl, he won't be out for long. We need to run!" The silver haired demon ran over to the tree and grabbed Kagome around the waist, swinging her around so that she landed on his back. "Hang on, I'm going to take you to my house. My mother is human, so she'll know what to do with you."

He took off at a run, sprinting through the darkness. Kagome clung on to his shoulder with the hand that didn't hurt, pressing her face in against his back. His strong hands hung on to her legs while he ran, keeping her close, keeping her safe. She felt safe. Why was he helping her? He was obviously a demon, although she'd never heard of a demon having dog ears before. There was something about being on his back which felt comforting, like she was flying. Almost like she was dreaming.

Inuyasha banged on the back door with his fist. "Ma! Open the door!" After a few moments not hearing a response, he scrabbled in his pocket for his key, feeling the girl's weight sliding against his back. "Hang on", he said, putting the key in his mouth and easing her down his back with both hands. Once she was on the ground safely, he took the key out of his mouth and turned it in the lock, glancing sideways at her. "Are you okay?"

"I've been better", sighed the girl, slumping against the wall next to the door. It was then that Inuyasha noticed the bloodied scratches around her neck.

"Shit! Just, hang on, I'll get us inside and then we can clean you up." He pushed open the door and shut it behind him, making sure to lock it before putting his arm around her shoulder to help her to the bathroom. He plonked her down onto the curved wooden bath stool, then rummaged in the cupboard for the first aid kit.

His heart was still beating frantically. He'd decided to leave the dance early, because leaning on a wall looking unconcerned about the fact that everyone was dancing with someone except for the half demon could only be borne for so long. He'd taken a short cut home, across the football fields and through the kids playground close to his street. He didn't usually walk that way, but something had told him to. As soon as he'd scented Kouga he'd nearly turned around and headed in the opposite direction, until he'd heard a girl's voice, smelt the fear pouring off her like water. And something about that scent had twisted his gut and compelled him to fight for her, even though he knew fighting Kouga was just asking for trouble. If he'd gong the other way, he had no doubt she wouldn't have been left in good shape. Kouga's family was old school when it came to humans – he would have had his fun and then left the mess for someone else to clean up. The thought of what could have been done to this girl made him want to vomit.

"What on earth were you doing outside when it was dark?" he snarled at her, as he ran a cloth under a tap and wrung it out, ready to clean the blood off her neck. "You know it's dangerous for humans! Kouga's just a regular fucking asshole, but there's demon cultists out there too!"

"I know", sighed the girl.

"You know, huh!", fumed Inuyasha. "So what were you doing, stupid girl! You're really lucky you know? Usually I wouldn't be out that late at night either, and then where would you have been?" He dabbed at her neck with the damp cloth, growling as he watched the white cloth turn red as the blood slowly stopped flowing from the claw marks around her neck. He was furious. Not exactly sure _why_ he was furious at the girl, but he was. "Don't you value your life at all?"

"Hey", she snarled back, her human voice doing a pretty good imitation of an angry demon's and her brown eyes flashing angrily at him, looking dark against her pale face. "I'm grateful you saved me, but you don't have to be such a jerk about it, you know?" Something about the way she spoke made him pause momentarily, and he swallowed, feeling that weird pull on his instincts again. Although this time they weren't warning him of danger. The whole time he'd carried her on his back, he'd almost wanted to purr. The feel of her skin and the weight of her legs in his hands, the scent of her hair. There was something so familiar about it. Almost like he was dreaming. And it was a good dream, one he didn't want to wake up from.

Inuyasha harrumphed at her by way of an answer and finished wiping the scratches clean, pleased to see they'd stopped bleeding. He reached into the first aid kit for antiseptic paste and dabbed it on the scratches gently, being careful of his claws. She flinched for a moment at the chill of the cream as it stung her scratches, then held herself still until he'd finished. He reached into the first aid kit again, pondering what to use for a moment, then pulled out a gauze bandage.

"Have we met before?" he said slowly, winding the bandage gently around her neck. "I don't think we have but…"

Kagome looked at him uncertainly. "I don't think so", she said haltingly, "but there's something about your voice." She reached up to brush her finger against an already mostly healed bruise on his face. "And when you were carrying me on your back, it was like I'd been there before." Then she laughed. "But I'd definitely remember something like that, right?"

"Right", he nodded, trying to ignore the tug of his instincts. How could he forget someone as beautiful as this girl? He was sure he'd remember too. But still. He was sure he was missing something. He went to grab her hand to help her to her feet. She hissed in pain, pulling her hand back toward her chest.

"Fucking asshole", Inuyasha muttered, angry that he hadn't noticed her injury and feeling remorseful that he'd hurt her by touching it. "What else did he do to you? Can I see?" Kagome looked at him uncertainly.

"I don't… I don't know why my hand hurts. It just does."

Inuyasha held his hand out in front of her, palm up, and after a moment's hesitation, she placed her hand carefully in his. Her skin was soft and pale, much lighter than his naturally tanned skin. Something about the size of her hand in his tugged at a memory, but the more he tried to pin it down, the vaguer it got, until at last he gave up. He looked at her hand carefully. It looked perfectly fine. "I can't see anything, but…" he leaned closer, and caught the scent of blood on her fingers. "That's weird", he said.

"What's weird?"

"Your hand smells like it's been bleeding, and not just a little bit either." He ran his other hand over her fingers gently and she whimpered. He closed his eyes and sniffed again, and the smell was stronger. "It's almost like there's an injury there that's invisible. Did you do anything to hurt your hand today?"

"No, I don't think so." Her eyes squinted shut, and she muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"I just… remembered a dream. There was a baby crying, and I was looking for it." She gasped suddenly. "You were in it!"

He snorted. "I was in a dream with you and a crying human baby. Yeah, right." He watched in amusement as she scrunched her eyes up tight, wrinkling her little nose. His wench was adorable. What the fuck? How did an archaic word like _wench_ get into his head? And anyway, she wasn't his wen… um, girl. He'd just met her!

"I was in a village", she said, staring off to the side at nothing as she tried to remember. "I had a bow and arrows, and I was walking, looking for the baby. I was so worried, because it sounded so tiny and lost."

"There wasn't any baby crying", he snorted. "I told you that, and you wouldn't… listen." The girl's eyes snapped back to his and they stared at each other. "What else do you remember about this dream, girl?" he said softly.

She swallowed nervously. "There was a basket, with an indigo cloth covering it. It was sitting in a clearing, and I ran over to it, and you said…"

"Kagome… don't touch that basket… I don't know what's in it, but it's not a human baby…"

"Inu…yasha? Is your name Inuyasha?"

He gulped and nodded. "Your hand." He cradled it gently in both of his. "The baby, that wasn't a baby. It bit your hand. I remember blood dripping… and… bones."

She gasped. "How could we have been sharing the same dream?"

Inuyasha growled. "This is fucking weird. Why does your hand hurt if it was a dream?"

Kagome looked at him, her eyes wide. "What… what if it's because that was real, and _this_ is a dream?"

Inuyasha scooted back away from her, shaking his head, his heart suddenly beating double time. "No. Shut up. I live _here_. I live here with my parents."

Kagome looked at him with a hurt expression in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"Shut the fuck up", growled Inuyasha. There was a sharp pain in his head, as he began to see double. It felt like he existed in two places at once, but that was impossible. He backed into the tiled wall, sliding down until he sat on the floor. "This is my place, a place I share with my family. They _love_ me. I have a father and a mother. I've always been here." He cradled his head in his hands, grunting at the stabbing pain in his head. That tension in his instincts pulled again, forcing him to pay attention, to really pay attention to the girl in front of him. He sniffed her scent deeply and then gasped, looking up at Kagome in recognition, his expression a mixture of love and grief.

"Inuyasha?" said Kagome gently. She moved over and sat down next to him, leaning against his shoulder. She reached across and took her clawed hand in his, entwining their fingers, but saying nothing. Inuyasha gave a mirthless chuckle.

"Figures. I finally have a family, and it's because a random high-powered psycho zaps us into a fucking maze for fun and uses some sort of weird dream magic to scoop images out of my head and make me believe they're real." He slumped against her, his voice cracking a little. "My mother made chicken karaage for dinner and told me she loved me. She told me my father was driving home from work and was going to pick up ice-cream later, after Sesshomaru came over for a family dinner." His hands trembled and he closed his eyes, his throat thickening with emotion. "I want it to be real Kagome. I'd even take fucking Sesshomaru if I could have them too. I _want_ them, Kagome. Does that make me crazy?"

"No", she said softly, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "It makes you the same person that I've grown to love." She smiled at him sadly. "My father was alive in this dream too. If you're crazy Inuyasha, then so am I."

He sighed and pulled her across into his lap. "Well, at least we can be crazy together huh?" He kissed her gently on the lips, and then tucked her head onto his chest, heaving out a heavy sigh. "I don't like the idea of Jareth poking around in my head. There are dreams in there with you in them that no-one else should see but me."

He grinned as Kagome slapped his shoulder, her cheeks pink. "I'm afraid not all of us can have innocent and pure dreams like you Ka-go-me", he teased. His eyes widened as her cheeks grew even redder and she squirmed in his lap. A sly grin crossed his face. "Care to share your thoughts, little miko?"

"No."

He grinned even wider. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours" he said in a wheedling tone.

Kagome poked him in his ribs, lowering her voice to a whisper. "What if Jareth's watching?"

Inuyasha snarled, his mood changing instantly. "Okay, looks like playtime's over then. How do we get out of here?"

She shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. We know it's an illusion now. I would have thought that would have broken it." She reached across and pinched the arm cuddling her as hard as she could.

"Ow! What the fuck wench?" He pinched her back, but not quite as hard, and she sighed.

"Well, it was worth a try. Maybe there's something we have to do? Something we have to say?" She pondered for a little while but even as she thought she could feel her brain going fuzzy, as if she were falling asleep against her will. "Inuyasha?" she said in a slightly panicked voice.

He stroked her uninjured hand, entwining their fingers. "It's okay Kagome, I can feel it too. Looks like we're leaving". He pulled her close to him, feeling comforted by the sweet smell of the cherry blossom scented shampoo she always used on her hair. Usually it was a little overpowering, but it had faded enough so that it was just right. He felt sad that he hadn't gotten to see his mother one last time. But if Jareth had created her using his memories, that meant she was still there, safely tucked away in his thoughts, and that was a small comfort.

He had one last thought before he blacked out. "Hey Kagome, you owe me dessert. Next time we visit your time, you need to go buy me a tub of honeycomb brittle ice-cream."


End file.
